A Visit from Friends

Last week, we had a visit from a couple of our friends from Ozark, Missouri. We had such a good time. This is a picture of them in Sarchi. Sarchi is a city that has kept alive the tradition of painting carts. i believe there is a picture on our website of an orange painted cart.

Carlos and Karen Aviles have been family friends for over 10 years. In fact, when Sherry and I went on our first mission's trip, Karen was a nurse in the medical clinic, and Carlos was an interpreter. Carlos is from El Salvador. I learned something new about Carlos this trip. I always knew that he was a Christian, but I never asked him about his testimony.

He told me the story of how he was invited to a small Bible study. He went because one of his friends went. Then, John Bueno, our executive director of World Missions, began to talk to him about Jesus. Carlos said that he wasn't interested because he was catholic. John Bueno invited him to his church. Carlos went with his family. At the end of the service, John Bueno was giving the altar call. Carlos' daughter elbowed him and told him to raise his hand. He did, and he went forward to accept Jesus as his Savior.

How amazing that God would use a missionary to reach out to Carlos in El Salvador? How amazing that God would use his daughter to tell him to raise his hand for salvation? Carlos' life, personality, and character are amazing. He loves God, his wife, and he loves to help people. Currently, he works at Cox Hospital in Springfield, Missouri as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients. He selflessly gives of himself to help others in whatever way he can. He is a great blessing to our family. Please do not get the idea from this blog that Karen is not a blessing to our family and other people. She is an amazing nurse.

They both travel the world together, reaching out to hurting people. I do not know for sure how many mission's trips they go on each year. I do know they go all over the world. I believe Karen told me they have been to 14 or 15 countries together. Can you imagine the number of lives they have touched? I want to be there the day that they stand in front of our Lord! I can only imagine what that would be like. I don't know exactly what God will tell them. I am guessing it will be something like this: "Welcome home! Welcome home, my good and faithful servants! Enter in to your rest! You deserve it!"

Blessings,

Charley

Two Down, One to Go!

This past Friday, we attended our second graduation ceremony at CINCEL. Several of our good friends graduated and are headed to Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. This picture is of all the faculty and the graduating students. I will try to name them all for you right now: from left to right; Alex, Maria Rosa, Rosita, Nicky, Janie, Paul, Kristi, Caitlyn, Ryan, Vicky, Kate, Guiselle, Yorleny, Lizbeth, Luis, and Roxana.

You can probably tell the graduating students from the professors. Our friends, Nicky & Janie Rider, Paul & Kristi Robinson, Ryan & Caitlyn Jordan, and Kate Freeman all graduated. The Riders are going to Mexico, the Robinsons are going to Colombia, the Jordans are going to Colombia, and Kate is going to Argentina. We will miss them all, but we will remain friends for life. They have all added something special to our lives, and we will never forget them.

To all of you who faithfully support us with your prayers and financial support, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are almost done. We can almost feel and smell Paraguay. Although we are excited about going to Paraguay, we know that we need as much Spanish as possible before we leave Costa Rica. We will be working very hard for the next 4 1/2 months, and then we will be graduating from language school. We could not do this without your prayer and support. Again, thank you so much. Your investment in our lives and ministry will touch many lives in the jungles of Paraguay.

Blessings to you all,

Charley

A Simple Prayer Answered

Here is the blog I promised. A few days ago, I just had a bad day with Spanish. I had not done well in my phonetics class. Then, I had a grammar test that I felt I did really poorly on. As I was running downtown to run an errand, I just felt like I had lost all of the Spanish that I had learned. I couldn't understand a thing the clerk was telling me at the store, and I just was thoroughly frustrated. As I was leaving the store, I asked the gentleman if he would call a taxi for me. He said he would, and I went outside to wait.

Now, here in Costa Rica, it rains pretty much every day. I think it will be this way until about October. Well, on this day, I had at least remembered to bring an umbrella. As I was standing outside, it started pouring. It was one of those rains where an umbrella does not keep you completely dry. My shoes and socks were soaked, and I was getting cold. You may ask why I didn't go back inside. Well, I didn't want to miss the taxi if I didn't wait outside for it.

I was standing there feeling sorry for myself, and I looked up into the rain and said, out loud, "God, if you can hear me and see me, please send a taxi driver I can understand and be able to talk to!" What happened next was amazing!

As I got in the taxi from the pouring rain and told my taxi driver where my home was, I just made up my mind to at least try and practice Spanish with him. He was very patient and seemed really interested in talking with me. Our conversation turned to why we were here. I explained about learning Spanish so we could start a medical clinic in the jungle of Paraguay. His head shot around as he heard this, and he began asking questions like: why? who for? who are we working with? etc.

Well, it turns out that he is a Christian. He attends a Baptist church not too far from our apartment, and his church loves helping the poor kids in their neighborhood. In fact, he gets up early every morning to serve breakfast to the kids and make lunch for them if they don't have any for school. His church believes in feeding, clothing, and ministering to the poor.

As we talked, he let me know that he had been having a bad day. He had a lot of customers that were rude to him, and he had just asked God to please send a Christian along to ride in his taxi. As we pulled up to the apartment, I did not want to get out, and he did not want me to leave. We talked for a few more minutes, and he thanked me for being an answer to his prayers. I thanked him for being an answer to mine. Then, just before I got out, I handed him a prayer card. He promised that he and his family would pray for us. Then, he looked me in the eyes and said, "May God bless you, your wife, and your kids. May He bless your ministry! May many people come to know the Lord as a result of your ministry! May He bless your medical clinic, and may His Holy Spirit lead, guide, and protect your family!"

If you are having one of those days, don't think that God doesn't see or know. Who knows? Maybe he will send someone that needs you just as much as you need them.

Blessings to you all,

Charley

Carts/Carretas

Here are some pictures of three different types of carts. The colorful one is the traditional cart of Costa Rica. These carts were used to take the coffee beans to the different ports for export to other countries. The farmers and indigenous people used them for hauling many things all around the country. There is a lot of pride placed into building and painting these carts. I met a man named Carlos in a town called Sarchi. His grandfather, father, sons, and now his grandsons have all been painters of these traditional carts. Carlos is 75 years young, and he is still working. He and I talked, in Spanish, of course, for about an hour. He was very nice, and he taught me a lot about these carts.

The other picture with the oxen, cart, and the man was taken on a small road near the Peace Waterfalls (Cataratas de La Paz). He was a funny man. He saw my dad taking pictures of him. So, he posed like that for this picture. Then, he waved and smiled as he drove the cart up the hill. It is a "little" different than the traditional carts, but I think it serves the same purpose. It looked to me as if he was heading home from a long day of work.

The other cart was at the Royal Rangers father/son campout. This was the camp workers and leaders cart. This was used to carry around the Roman leader, Caesar. Then, at the end of the camp on Sunday morning, they had a chariot race. This cart became stuck in the mud hole and didn't finish until well after the other carts. It was a lot of fun.

All different types of carts with many different uses. Some for recreation and some are used for working. Just like people! There are many different types of people. Some are hard workers, others like to play a lot, some are a mixture of both, but we are all important in life. There are some people who understand the importance of doing what God has called them to do. There are others who still are trying to figure out what God wants them to do. I do not know all that God wants me to do, but I do know this. He wants me to be ready for when He calls. I strive to hear the voice of God! I strive to be ready for the times He wants me to do something.

To hear about a time when God answered a simple prayer of two men from two different countries and two different languages, then be sure to read the next blog: A Simple Prayer Answered!

Blessings to all,

Charley

A THIEF IN THE JUNGLE

Hello again! This post is a different kind of story. Last weekend, we had a three-day weekend. So, we took advantage of the opportunity, and we took a trip. We went to an area of Costa Rica called Manuel Antonio. It is about four hours from the language school in San Jose. We really had a good time.

One of the reasons for this trip was to take a final big trip with a couple who have become really good friends of the family. Their names are Nicky and Janie Rider. They are missionaries to Mexico. They will be leaving language school in a little over a week and head off to Mexico. Also, we invited our friends, Randy and Nati, to come with us. They agreed, and we spent a couple of days together playing games, eating lots of food, going to the beach, and practicing our Spanish with them. If you do not remember these two people, then here is a reminder. They are our Tico friends who come over once a week for dinner to help us with Spanish. Also, they are the same friends that invited us to their wedding. What an honor!

The two pictures above are the reason for this blog. The place we stayed at was not enclosed. The bars on the windows kept humans out, but it did not keep our little friend here out of the house. He, and his buddy, ran across our roof, down the other side, in the kitchen window, and he stole a banana. (I think he has done this before) Anyway, it was a sight to see. I can be pretty sure when I mention that most of you have not had this happen to you in the States.

We had a good time just getting away from it all. The kids enjoyed the beach and seeing all the animals at the National Park. Here are some pictures of some of the animals we saw:
WHITE-FACED MONKEY













RACOON













CRAB (Look at the colors on this one)

Traditional Dance

Last Wednesday evening, we had the privilege of being invited to a celebration for Guanacaste Day. This is a day that Costa Rica celebrates every July 25. It is a day to remember the annexation of one of Costa Rica's provinces. The name is Guanacaste.

This picture is Gabriel, the youngest son of one of our teachers, Roxanna. He is doing a traditional dance from Costa Rica. Gabriel is 10 years old, and he has become a friend of Chaz'. In fact, the entire family has become close friends. When my mom and dad were here, Roxanna invited us to her home for dinner. They are a really neat family with big hearts.

It is there desire to help as many people as they can with whatever they have. Roxanna's husband, Jose Antonio, has told me that their desire is to purchase a microbus (basically a large passenger van). The reason they want to buy one is to be able to take students to different places in Costa Rica and learn more about Latin American culture. Jose Antonio also was dancing and teaching about the cultural dances. He desires for students to not only learn the language, but he really desires for them to learn his culture. He wants students to understand Latin Americans and the way of life here in Costa Rica. He also wants to keep the traditions alive so that others, in the future, will learn about what life was like in the past.

It was a great night! The dances were beautiful and they taught us a lot about Costa Rica. In fact, during one dance, all of the dancers came off the stage and grabbed a bunch of us up on the stage to dance. I didn't know what to do! I do not have any rhythm. Sherry did really well. I think she could really learn some traditional dances. Who knows? In Paraguay, the girls might learn some traditional dances and show them when we come home for itineration.

We hope and pray that you are all doing well. Every now and then, we receive emails or updates from the States about someone going through an illness, injury, or a tough time. Please be reassured that you have a missionary family praying for you. We know and understand the power of prayer. If you have a need, or you would just like to ask a question or update us on how you are doing, please drop us an email or give us a call.

Blessings to all,

Charley

Visiting Parents

The last couple of weeks have been very busy. As I announced on our last blog, I was going to write several blogs and post them. Well, I did write several blogs, but I failed to save them. Now I have figured out how to set the automatic save. Hopefully, there won't be anymore mistakes like those. I am planning on posting some more this week. So, please keep checking back.

My parents flew into San Jose, Costa Rica on July 9th and stayed for 10 days. This is a picture of them with our kids at the Cataratas La Paz, the Peace Waterfalls. The river is called La Paz, and in this area it has a lot of waterfalls, hence the name.

Anyway, we had a really good time. My dad loves to take pictures as well. So, between the two of us, we have a lot of pictures. I hope to get some more posted on our website soon.

During my parent's visit, we went all over this country. Well, not entirely, but we went a lot of places. They were able to visit the volcano, Arenal, downtown San Jose, Cartago, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and many other locations. My dad's favorite part of the trip (besides spending time with the grand kids, of course) was the time the entire school went to Cafe Britt. Cafe Britt is a place that makes coffee. They harvest the cherries, separate and classify the beans, roast, package, sell, and deliver them to stores. It was a neat experience, and my dad, being a coffee-lover, loved the entire time we were there. I enjoyed it as well, and I learned what a really good cup of coffee really tastes like. The picture on the right is Sherry holding some seeds that can be planted, and if they are watered, fertilized, and have the correct temperature, you might have 25 pounds of coffee per year starting 4-5 years after you plant them.

Anyway, we really enjoyed our visit, but we miss them greatly. It was hard saying, "Good-bye" at the airport. When you think about, we are not promised tomorrow. So, will we ever see them again? I sure hope so, but if not, then we have tremendous memories. My dad is fond of saying, "Go make some memories!" I think he is wise in saying that. It is important to make some good memories with the ones you love.

Go make some good memories today with your family and friends,

Charley

Retreat to Arenal

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since our last post. I will be writing several posts in the next few days. So, hopefully, I will get you all caught up on what is going on in the lives of the Mattix gang.

This picture is at Arenal. Sherry and Chariti, two beautiful young women, posed for this shot as the clouds moved away from the top of the volcano, Arenal.

We went to Arenal for a yearly retreat that the school, CINCEL, has, and it was really nice. The entire school went, and we had a really good time. We rested, a little, and then, we had several different training sessions. It was a good time of getting away from Spanish and spending a few days getting to know the other missionaries better.

Sometimes, we need to "get away" and allow God to speak to us. Now, I am not suggesting you need to get away from your family to hear from God. What I am saying is that we all need some time in our week to spend with God. How else are we going to hear from Him. We must have time to spend with Him.

Today, in chapel, a pastor from Texas spoke about staying connected to the power source. His illustration had to do with the jaws of life that firemen or rescue workers us to help recover people who are trapped in their cars after a wreck. He explained that one time, he and his partner were working to get a young person out of a vehicle. He heard his partner fire up the generator, the power source, but the jaws-of-life would not work. He looked back and saw that the power cords were not plugged in to the power source.

He went on to explain that many people in the church come every week and hear the power source. They know the power source is there, and they see Him working in other people's lives. Yet they don't feel like God is working in their lives. You know what? Maybe, we should stop and make sure we are CONNECTED to the power source.

So, today, take some time to check your power cords. Are they plugged in to the power source?

Blessings,

Charley
Don't forget to check out our website. As soon as I figure out what is wrong with my Adobe Acrobat PDF maker, I will post our newsletters.

Volcano "Eruption"

Here is another picture of the volcano, Arenal. This past weekend, the entire group of students at CINCEL went to Arenal for our yearly retreat. We stayed at Hotel Paraiso. It was a nice place with a great view of the volcano. A few times over the weekend, the clouds parted, and we were able to see the volcano. During one of those times, the volcano "burped" or had a small eruption. This is a picture of it a few seconds after it happened.

This was the first time we actually were able to see a volcano "erupt." The feeling of being so close to a live volcano is interesting. I don't know if I would call it fear, but you definitely think about how to get out of there if it would really erupt.

The retreat was good for us. We got away for a couple of days, and we attended classes on Conflict Resolution and Personal Communication skills. Now, you might be thinking, why would missionaries need this kind of training? Well, for one thing, it is much different communicating here in Latin America than in the U.S. Also, when several leaders get together and work in the same country or region, there can be communication problems or misunderstandings. This retreat gave us some tools on how to communicate and work through any personal issues that might present themselves.

I am reminded of how important it is to communicate to each other. We need to let each other, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, know about our needs, answered prayers, struggles, joys, valleys, and mountaintops. The more we tell each other about what God is doing in our lives, the more we can build up the faith of the body of Christ. It is very important to communicate our needs to one another, but I also think it is just as important to communicate the triumphs in our lives.

Yesterday, in prayer chapel, I was leading the prayer time. Every Friday, we write needs and prayer requests on the board, and all of the students join together to pray for these needs. I really felt like God wanted us to share what He has done in our lives. So, for the first 10 or 15 minutes, we went around the room sharing answered prayer requests that we had been praying for. It was an amazing time of sharing with each other. Then, after we praised God, we took each others burdens to the Lord. We laid hands on everyone who had a need, and we prayed for them. It was a sweet time in the presence of the Lord.

Take time today, and this weekend, and think of the things God has done for you this past year. Thank Him and give Him praise for working in your life. Also, take some time to encourage your brothers and sisters. Let them know what God is doing.

Blessings to all,

Charley

What Kind of Trees are These?

I have a question for everyone. We walk by these trees quite frequently, and I have always wondered what they were. They look very interesting, and the feel really soft and mushy.

DOES ANYONE KNOW THE NAME OF THIS KIND OF TREE?

If you do, please post a comment about it. I sure would like to know what kind of tree it is. Every time I walk past them, I wonder what they are. They are very different than any tree I ever saw in the United States. If you have any information, please let me know.

Blessings to all,

Charley