We took our last little trip with our Costa Rican friends to Arenal. On the way home, we saw this big, bungee-jumping tower. We pulled over on the side of the road, and I snapped a picture of this guy jumping with a bungee cord wrapped around his ankles. At the bottom, there was a pool of water. He went about waist deep into the water and up and down. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think I could do this. I don't know if this man had placed his trust (not to mention his life) in the hands of the owners of the bungee cord, or if he was acting with stupidity.
Now, I am not using that word to be mean, and I am not trying to put him down at all. To me, I do not know if I could place my life or the lives of my family in the hands of someone else. I am not afraid of heights, but I am terrified of the landing:)
It made me think of our life here on earth. We can act with stupidity and place our lives and souls in the hands of the owner of the bungee cord of lies, deceit, wickedness, worldliness, false idols, discontent, and disunity. You know the enemy I am talking about. He seeks to destroy our lives through many deceitful ways. Sometimes, he comes at us full force, and we know he is seeking to harm us. Other times, he sneaks up on us by using people to speak into our lives things that can harm our spirit. It's kind of like the bungee cords. You never know for sure if they are going to keep you from hitting the ground. Why place your trust in something that ends uncertainly?
Or, we can place our trust in Jesus Christ. We can place our lives and souls in the hands of the owner and creator of the universe. The creator of unity, truth, love, honor, justice, peace, Godliness, and contentment has made it simple for us to make sure we are safe. You don't need to climb the tower, strap on some unsafe bungee cords, and jump off the tower to find excitement in your life. The only true, pure, and everlasting excitement is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are not sure, just keep reading our blogs and see what God is doing in our lives. Why not place your trust in Jesus Christ today? Step out in faith and see what He can do in your life and through your life.
Maybe God has asked you to step out in faith and do something you don't think you can do. You cannot do it at all, WITHOUT GOD. Seek God's heart, seek God's face, and let Him work through your life today. Who knows? Maybe you won't need a pool to keep you from hitting the ground because you won't have to jump from a tower to feel excitement.
Blessings to all and Happy Thanksgiving,
Charley
No, I am not 50 years old, and neither is Sherry. It was the 50th birthday party of our academic director here at CINCEL. His name is Luis Solano. Here in Costa Rica, 50th birthdays are HUGE. There was a big celebration. The teachers catered in food, had a big birthday cake, brought in a string band, and we all joined together to celebrate Luis' birth. It was really a nice time, and he was completely surprised.
There are a couple of traditions that took place. A couple of weeks before, Sherry asked one of our teachers what a traditional gift was for someone turning 50. Here is the tradition. Years ago, a 100 colones bill (the money in Costa Rica) was the color of a roof tile. You can see that color on the edge of the piece of tile painted with a picture of Don Quixote on it. Because of the color of the tile and the 100 colon bill, the bill became known as Teja, which is tile in Spanish. The tradition is that for a 100th birthday someone would paint a tile and give it to you. The gift is called a Teja. For the 50th birthday, it is a tradition to receive a Media Teja, or half tile, painted. So, Sherry had a teacher bring a tile to school, and she broke it in half, painted it, and gave it to Luis for his birthday. He really liked it, and he was pleased that Sherry thought to ask what the tradition was.
One other interesting tradition is the piñata. Now, the reason why I am sharing this is amazing. Many birthdays in Costa Rica include a time for breaking the piñata. Luis, who just turned 50, had never had a piñata for his birthday. So, what do the teachers do? Of course, they buy a piñata, blindfold Luis, and have him hit it until it breaks. It was a lot of fun to watch. He was having a lot of fun, and for the first time in his life, he had his very own piñata.
Remember to take some time, laugh, have fun, and make a memory with your family and friends,
Charley
This past week was a fun one for the kids. On Wednesday, October 31, we had a party at the language school for all of the missionary kids. So, all the kids dressed up and had a good time. Kaylee dressed up as a La Liga player. La Liga is the name of a soccer team in Alajuela here in Costa Rica. Chariti dressed up as an Oklahoma Sooners fan (we used 2 rolls of toilet paper for her shoulder pads). Then, Chaz dressed up as an Hawaiian fire dancer.
At CINCEL, we set up a lot of games. Bob & Teresa McKay really worked hard for the kids to have a lot of fun. At each game, they 'won' candy. There was bobbing for apples, go fish, sugar cookie decorating, bite a donut off a string, and coin tossing. Then, all of the older kids had some contests. The final contest was digging for M&M's and Skittles in a plate full of flour. They could only use their mouths. Here are some pictures of what they looked likeafter the contest.
I think it looks like they had more flour than they did candy, but they had fun.
Then, on Friday, it was "Crazy Day" at their school. Chaz wanted to have a Mohawk. I don't know what happened to Chariti and Kaylee's hair, but it sure was crazy. Then, they turned their clothes inside-out, miss-matched, and wore different shoes. It was hilarious! I will try to put some more pictures of the kids on our website this week.
Just remember to laugh every now and then,
Charley
We took our last little trip with our Costa Rican friends to Arenal. On the way home, we saw this big, bungee-jumping tower. We pulled over on the side of the road, and I snapped a picture of this guy jumping with a bungee cord wrapped around his ankles. At the bottom, there was a pool of water. He went about waist deep into the water and up and down. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think I could do this. I don't know if this man had placed his trust (not to mention his life) in the hands of the owners of the bungee cord, or if he was acting with stupidity.
