Our first two months in the field have been a whirlwind for Heather, Eden, and I. It has been non-stop action and adjustment since we arrived. But now the winter is winding down here in Central America. The groups are finished coming, the rains have begun to fall almost every day, and projects are slowly grinding to a halt, and we moved into another (long term) house. And in this, we are beginning to understand the new life God has for us.
Before we moved here we thought that we had a pretty good idea about what life would be like in Central America based on our previous visit and discussions with others who live here. Things have turned out to be a little different than we were expecting. I hope that through my description you might more fully understand what things are like for us.
There is a saying that you hear down here all of the time; “poco a poco.” Little by little. This is truly the life that we are living and learning now. Daily chores are truly that. Several hours a day are spent cooking meals and washing the dishes. Sweeping must be done daily and bugs are everywhere. Laundry has become a marathon event as clotheslines have largely taken the place of the dryer. Four weeks ago we started the process to get cell phones. Late last week, we received them. There is no postal service and as a result, we have learned that you just go to the bank (which can be an extended event in itself) early in the month and ask how much you owe and pay it then or your utilities get cut off (We learned this lesson over a $27.00 electricity bill. We went a whole night not knowing this because I assumed it was just one of our regular black outs.). Everything takes more time here. No matter how early of a start you try to get to your day, it seems you always get to where you are trying to go later than you planned. From a fast paced American mind set it is a huge change, but as for us, there is no doubt that this is the place that God has prepared for us and this is the life that we are meant to live.
Back in the states, our house is still on the market. A potential sale fell trough and we are currently attempting to lease it. We honestly don’t know what else to ask or pray for with this issue. I just know that funds to pay the mortgage are gone after this month and it is all in God’s hands.
Up at Refugio Solte things are much the same. I look over the property and see so much that needs to be done and have learned that due to the tools, labor, money, building practices, and weather (have you ever tried to dig a swimming pool in the rain with a shovel? That’s my project this fall. My three interns are going to hate me by November), no project gets done as quickly as you would hope. At times this has been discouraging, but Heather reminded me to look at what has been done. The road drains better due to work we have done on it. Large areas of the property that were formerly mud are now landscaped gardens. A large portion of the main building is painted. There are stairways connecting the second and third floor. There are handrails around the third floor. There is a gate that is three quarters finished. The second pastor’s house now has a sidewalk lea
ding to it and hot water (Sorry Houston; missed it by two weeks.) Plus I have been able to design the gate, a grand stairway to the fourth floor and a pool. Never mind that fifteen hundred and fifty coffee plants are going in the ground as I write this. God is blessing this project and moving it along in his time and expanding its scope. South of where we are located is a small, difficult to reach, mosquito infested island with little in the way of electricity and no running water. A small group of people, many of them believers, scratch out a living here (The Houston group knows this island from their dental clinic). Refugio Solte is now to a state of completion that our fellow workers have been able to invite the Christian leadership and their families from the island to our mountain of refuge and restoration for a time of replenishment, training, and encouragement. In the early spring the site will be used for a marriage retreat, and this past summer the site was used to train almost twenty youths and twenty-somethings about kingdom living and the power inherent in being a child of God. Never mind the fact that Refugio Solte can now function as a home base for groups who come to work in the areas around our mountain.
Over the past few weeks we have met and become friends with several other missionaries in our immediate area. One family runs a pizzeria and coffee shop (the peanut butter cup latte makes Starbucks taste like instant coffee), another family leads a small bilingual church that we are currently attending, and another couple makes videos to help promote the ministries of other missionaries. Interestingly enough there is a common theme amongst us all. When we first met each family one of the first thing that was expressed was the desire for fellowship with other believers. Heather and I are currently praying about opening our home for fellowship and bible study among these new friends. Please be praying with us as to how God would have us proceed. In the states, missions is so often presented as a series of individual missionaries doing their work. This missionary does one thing, another missionary does another, and heaven forbid the idea that another denomination might be doing good work also. In practice, I am finding that these lines get a little blurry. You discover who is on your team and you play together.
On a lighter note, I have definite proof that God has a sense of humor. Growing up I thought it was a reasonable goal to be a millionaire by my thirties, I always wanted a place in the country with a tree lined driveway and a view. God gave it all to us. We just didn’t know that driveway would be lined with coconut trees and have a view of the Pacific Ocean and the Jungle and we really never expected that it wouldn’t be a house in the country but in another country. The funniest thing about it all is that down here I am not only a millionaire but, our support exchanges out to almost one point two million local dollars a month. As great as this sounds, it costs me one thousand local dollars to buy Eden a snow cone and gas costs over two thousand local dollars a gallon. A million doesn’t go as far as it used to.Thank you for all of your prayer, love, and support. Taste and see that the Lord is good. To me he tastes like a peanut butter cup latte. We will write again soon. It’s raining and the power is out again.
We love you,
Bart
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