Parenting a Toddler...

I always thought "the terrible twos" were just a figment of the imagination - an excuse used by bad parents when their children are misbehaving. Brooklyn isn't quite two yet (her 2nd birthday is in a week) but I am now a firm believer in the "terrible twos". It must be because she can't communicate all that well yet - although, a well-timed fit can say much more than simple words do. Maybe it is because she needs to test her boundaries to reassure herself that she is in a safe environment - how does one make a "safe environment" for a rambunctious two-footer? Nah, I think she just enjoys watching our many reactions to her antics - we laugh, we cry, we scream, we count to ten, we tremble in fear, we laugh, we cry, we scream...
This has been one of those days - we have been riding a roller-coaster with our precious little angel all day. It started out this morning. First thing she does when she wakes up is PLAY. And I should mention that she is quite serious about her playtime. Her favorite thing is her stuffed animals, puppies in particular. She got some new ones (thanks Grammy and Grandpa E.) and she won't put them down for anything. One of the puppies was on the floor and she saw it, grabbed it up in her arms and said "Hay dere puppeeee!" (translated "hey, there puppy"). Her first sentence!!! So precious. Oh, so cute. Of course, her first sentence was proclaimed to an inanimate object and I might have missed it if I hadn't been in the room but cute is cute, even if she won't say more than "No", "Mio" (spanish for mine) or "MMMM... mm-mm-mmm" to me. But then we had to leave the house and the puppy had to stay home and suddenly the darling "hay dere puppeee" slipped my memory as I was struggling to buckle her into her stroller. I swear she hides some extra limbs somewhere or has super powers or something - how else would a 30 pound kid nearly overtake two grown adults? The only way to keep this little beast happy is with a box of raisins and a cup of milk and then - suddenly - she's tranquil again and waving at the guard and pointing out all the "pupeees" on the street. After school and a nap - we love naptime - we wanted to take a few pictures of our precious child to send to Grandpa E. for his birthday. No, she didn't want to sit here or smile or hold this or stay put or look at the camera.... We finally had to settle for a scowl. Gee, won't Grandpa want to hang that one up in his office. Actually, he probably will and people will laugh because "gee, isn't that the most ADORABLE little scowl you have ever seen?" Grandparents. Nuff said. Anyway, once that ordeal was over we went to the store. Parents of toddlers know: DANGER! DO NOT TRY TO TAKE YOUR TODDLER TO THE STORE. TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN BODILY HARM TO YOUR CHILD, YOURSELF, OR SOME INNOCENT BYSTANDER. Somehow we missed that in the manual. We were doing fine until we were at the register trying to pay. One cannot expect a toddler to hold still for a minute or two, so I took her out into the mall and sort of let her roam free...until she walked - no ran - into a crowd of people and I nearly lost her only to find her teetering on the edge of the escalotor. So I picked her up. RED LIGHTS FLASHING - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PICK UP! That was when she pulled the "whole body go limp" maneuver. Hey, I'm well practiced in dealing with that one so when she saw I had nearly won she hit me with a new one, the "kick legs at supersonic speed and scream" maneuver. This move is particularly hard to deal with when being watched by a dozen people and she knew it. Okay, so I put her down...away from the escalators. Sean was taking a while to come out of the store and it occured to me that he might need some help so I tried to convince Brooklyn she needed to walk with me to the store. Let me tell you, if you want a toddler to do something say "No, don't you dare do that." But I forgot this cardinal law of toddler parenting and so, becuase of my foolish attempt to grab a hand, she ran. And kept running right into a glass wall. CRASH! Poor thing. But she let me pick her up after that. I knew she was okay so I was actually kind of giggling to myself - thinking, I guess I won that one - but I stopped because every person in the mall was looking at us. She was crying loudly and I was giggling. Don't think that made a good impression. At that moment, Sean came rushing out of the store in a tizzy and I thought he must of heard Brooklyn run into the glass and was concerned about what had happened but, no, he just hates shopping. Sean rushed out to the car to escape from shopping, I rushed out to escape the open stares of people watching what I'm sure they were thinking was an insane woman lugging her screaming child over her shoulder. Oh, but there is so much more to this day (just one day) with a toddler. Like the firm "no" that she says in response to each and every question that escapes our lips, or the dozen or so near catastrophes involving juice in a restaurant, or the screaming tantrums as regular as Old Faithful, the red crayon on the refrigerator, the absolute horror of trying to wash her hair, the six hundred times (just one day) that we say "where did Brooklyn go?"... But then she comes up to me and ever so sweetly, with adoration in her eyes gives me a kiss right on the cheek. She gathers up her blankie, a puppy, and scurries up into her bed. She giggles contentedly while we tuck her in. She says "Aman" after we say our bedtime prayers and offers us each one more nightime kiss. Yep, we are parenting a toddler. It is an adventure and not for the weak of heart but one can't help but fall in love with these little people. And when she is going beserk for some unknown, nearly unprovoked reason we are usually laughing behind our hands because yes, that little scowl is quite adorable.

Airplanes and Relaxation

We have had a great weekend. Cannot say that we have done a whole lot. Becca and I both did homework, took Brooklyn to the park, and ate out a little bit, watched some movies and took some naps. It was great. It is amazing how tiring it can be to live in a new culture and learn thier language, getting rest is very important. Now only 4 weeks left for the completion of our first of three trimesters. Only one of those weeks is five days. Costa Rica is having more national holidays, wich will give us three more 4 day weeks. Church yesterday was awesome. There was such a sweet spirit during worship, and once again the pastor delivered a very good message - one we could actually understand, a huge bonus. It has been very refreshing to be attending this church. We are now trying to find out where we can get plugged in a little more and meet some friends.


I thought I would include another airplane picture. For those of you that care about this type of thing it is called the Quest Kodiak. It is destined to revolutionize the type of flying I will be doing. MAF is slated to recieve some of the first ones to come off the production line. This is currently the only one in existance as Quest is a new company and they are in process with the FAA to get it certified, not an easy or quick process. If you are really interested they have a good website at www.questaircraft.com. I cannot say whether I will ever fly one of these in Ecuador or when, but in the future maybe. I can say that somewhere, someone with MAF around the world will be flying them. One of the greatest aspects that this airplane brings is that it has a turbine (Jet) engine. This of course means that is burns Jet fuel, which is widely available worldwide. On the other hand, our Cessna 206's burn AvGas, kinda like sooped up auto gas but it still has lead in it. This is becoming a specialized fuel in the USA, you can imagine how hard it is to get this fuel in the third world. As a matter of fact, Ecuador is having a fuel shortage right now and there is no date set as to when more can be delivered. So this fuel issue should make the Kodiak a very usable aircraft, among numerous other things. Right now they are at Oshkosh, one of the biggest airshows in the world in Wisconsin. Hopefully by this time next year Kodiak will be rolling off the assembly line to customers in Alaska, South America, Africa, and numerous other customers that just need an airplane that is fast (about 200 MPH) and can haul a lot of weight. So the future looks exciting with the Quest Kodiak.

Anyway, we are once again gearing up for another great week here in Costa Rica. Language school is sure fun, although it is rarely easy. Nothing worth doing seems to be easy though, right?

Ahhh, Friday...

Let the weekend begin. Another fast week. This is going to be a three day weekend for us. Monday is a holiday for Costa Rica - "The Annexation of Guanacaste" (a province in Costa Rica). We had a program at the school today. The teachers sang us songs and did some folk-dancing and then we ate tamales!! It was pretty fun. Sean got dragged in by the teachers for one of the dances. He didn't like that but I just think it's funny! Anyway, we came straight home and all three of us took a long siesta (nap). We were up at 3:30 am this morning because Brooklyn's diaper leaked and she woke up wet and mad. Note to self: two peices of watermelon before bed will equal more fluid than a diaper can handle and will result in a disaster in the early hours of the morning...
We had a good time of fellowship last night with the two other MAF families that are currently studying Spanish here in Costa Rica. We bought a new grill and had them over for a good old-fashioned American BBQ! It was fun. We were able to pray together and spend some time encouraging one another. Our little house was packed and there were lots of kids running around but it was great! One of my favorite things is having people over...I should do it more often. I guess sometimes I am waiting for better circumstances (like enough dishes and chairs for everybody!) but things will never be perfect. Fellowship with friends is important. I have to be honest, though, until last week we didn't even have energy for anything extra like that. It takes time to adjust to this new life but I think we're finally there. I must say that I love our new lifestyle. Living overseas is not easy but it is so rewarding. Here we are in God's perfect will and doing the very thing He designed us for - there just isn't anything better than that.

Nice Weekend

This past weekend we didn't do a whole lot. We got our shopping done (at the Costa Rican version of Wal-Mart), went to the farmers market, did some homework, and just plain relaxed. We did go to a great restuarant Saturday night. It is up on a mountain and overlooks most of San Jose and at night it is really pretty. We enjoyed dinner with 2 couples, one from Fort Collins, CO. and the other from Tyler, Texas. Church on Sunday was great. A Costa Rican missionary spoke. He serves in Califoria somewhere and was back home in San Jose for a time. It was neat to hear his perspective and the things God is doing through him here and in my homecountry. God is really showing Rebecca and I some powerfull things about ourselves and our calling. One of which is this: He does NOT need us. He doesn't need me to fly an airplane, or Rebecca to help at a hospital. What he desires from us is not a task, but a relationship...daily. Of course we know this, but we are learning a whole new aspect of it. We are learing to be like the Apostle Paul and be able to serve and KNOW Jesus no matter where you are, who you are with, or what the circumstances are in your life. It is very freeing to begin to understand this as we try to tackle Spanish (a huge task), in Costa Rica (a very different place), among the Latin culture ( a very different people). Being able to pursue Jesus here and learn how He still speaks to us - most often in the same ways - is very comforting. It transcends all homesickness, physical sickness, boredom, extreme business, exhaustion, and flat out frustration. "Jesus es mi Pastor" as the Ticos (Costa Ricans) say. He is our everything, and without Him, even serving Him is fruitless. Only when we are tapped into the vine do we bear fruit, not produce fruit, but bear it. Bearing something is a natural reaction to something natural. If I were to produce fruit, it is my strength, my ambitions and my desires that come to pass . . . pretty pathetic. Now as we allow God to work in us, we bear fruit, a natural responce to being grafted in to the vine. Only then do we know that our fruit is eternal, and our work is with purpose. All this to say God is AWESOME, and He is so patient with us. We are so thankfull that He never gives up nor leaves us, because I would have a long time ago. Praise His name! This week we look forward to class and nothing out of the ordinary. We have about 5 weeks left of this first of three trimesters and we are trying to solidify some Spanish concepts all the while putting them to use in the street.

Aguacero

Aguacero - a very strong downpour of rain. Brooklyn and I got our chance to enjoy one of these "aguaceros" today. So lucky...

I walked home with Brooklyn by myself today since Sean had to stay at the school for worship practice for tomorrow's chapel. We were about halfway home when, almost without warning, it began to rain...HARD. We were near a pharmacy and so I stopped under the eave to put on a raincoat (a lot of good that did) and to cover Brooklyn up with a plastic poncho. It so happens that Brooklyn hates that plastic poncho so she threw a bit of fit. I finally got her covered up and the wind began to blow the rain into our faces so I opened up our umbrella and we huddled under that for a while. The lady in the pharmacy told me to come in but, dumb Gringa that I am, I said "No, esta bien." "No, it's okay." First dumb move.
It started to lighten up a bit so I figured if we got moving we might make it home okay and so we started out again. Second dumb move. I was drenched by the time I crossed the street to the park that we walk through to get home. Now I'm thinking, "Okay, so now that I'm drenched we might as well keep going." Third dumb move. Brooklyn was still crying and upset because she was getting rain in her face. I tried to arrange the umbrella so that it would block the rain but she hated that too. So I just did my best to hold the umbrella in its position on the stroller at the same time that Brooklyn was doing her best to push the thing away.
Anyway, we were in the middle of the park when, I swear, it started hailing! Okay, maybe it wasn't hail but it hurt like the dickens and the wind wasn't making my umbrella idea work any better. So we found a tree and once again huddled under the umbrella (which by the way is cheap and small...I left the nice big one with my beloved spouse who had no need of it in the nice dry chapel at the school. Maybe that was the first dumb move...)
I was basically crouching in a puddle of water and Brooklyn was getting quite hysterical about the situation and was wailing like mad. I think I might have said something like "Stop it! I'm the one that's really getting wet here! You're sitting in a nice stroller and I'm doing my best to keep you dry...do you not see how wet I am?" Luckily, I think my little tantrum was drowned out by the massive thunder and the rush of more water pouring onto us. Brooklyn was so upset by now that all I could think about was getting us home so I got back up and we kept going. Yet another dumb move. We were doing okay for drowned rats until I came around a corner and the wind nearly knocked me off my feet. Can you see the umbrella whipping in the wind? I had moved Brooklyn's poncho to cover the whole stroller and there was now a nice big hole down the middle so that it was basically useless. Now I'm thinking "this is bad but it's only one block and then we can turn onto our street. I'll just run this block." What is this the fifth or sixth dumb move? So I ran...as well as one can with drenched pants, an out-of-control umbrella, a stroller and water in the eyes. The wind was blowing the rain into my face so hard that I couldn't breathe. I noticed that Brooklyn had stopped crying. My initial thought was that she'd finally resigned herself to the fact that we were getting close to home but then I realized she must be gasping for breath with the wind and rain blowing into her face so strongly. So I turned the stroller around so that her face wasn't in the wind anymore and we huddled - again - under that pathetic umbrella. Brooklyn was screaming and shivering and we were both worried and mad. It was bad. If I were a cussing woman....
We had to get home and we were so close - when it let up a little we kept going, this time I just pulled the stroller behind me so Brooklyn wasn't facing the wind. I turned onto our street... and found a flood! The water was at least two feet deep. Well, what was I going to do? Praise the Lord for Tevas (my "river" sandals) and a "four wheel drive" stroller. We got through the water and it was just a little farther up the street (and up a hill) to the house. I ran the last little bit, we got to the gate and...it stopped raining. It actually stopped raining!
Brooklyn was beyond hysterical and I don't think I would have been wetter if I had gone for a swim in a lake but we made it. It took some time but I got Brooklyn settled down. She ended up falling asleep in my arms while I cuddled her. For the first time since we've been here we used her little red sleeper pajamas with the feet.
You might find this story funny... I think the Costa Ricans that were watching me through their windows thought it was even funnier. I'm sure we were a real picture.

Tuesday News

There was a big fire downtown this morning. It was a hospital and it sounds like it is a very tragic day for many Costa Ricans who lost loved ones in the fire. We don't know the latest news on the death toll. Praise the Lord, there were survivors who were moved to other hospitals - I'm sure those hospitals are pretty crowded. One of Sean's teachers was just released from that hospital last week. We are very grateful to the Lord that she wasn't there when the fire happened. The hospital is gone, it went very quickly. Pray for those that lost loved ones in the fire as well as the survivors and their families.

We are doing well this week. Our weekend went quickly but was very refreshing. We visited a new church Sunday and enjoyed it a great deal. We understood the sermon, even got something out of it!!! This is a first for us here in Costa Rica so it is a huge blessing. In the States we really took it for granted that we understand the entire sermon. Funny how much it affects us when we feel lost the whole church service! Well, this past Sunday wasn't that way at all. It was nice.

Sean has a tutor now. Not because he's struggling in classes but because he wants extra practice in learning the language. I am amazed at his discipline and desire to learn Spanish. Over the past two and a half months, he has really improved. I'm sure it is because he goes ahead and talks with anyone and everyone about anything (in Spanish)! It is fun to watch him improve but it worries me a bit - so far I've been ahead of him but I'm a little worried that he'll pass me up...actually at this rate, I'm sure he will!

I just finished a prayer letter. That should be coming out before the end of the month. I always enjoy making our letters. This was a fun one since it is our first one from overseas. I remember how a few years ago I was imagining how cool it would be to write our first letter from overseas. It's the "real deal" now.

Pray for our empleada (employee...ie. maid) She went home sick today and was also very concerned for her son who had a very high fever. It sounds like they have what I had over the weekend. I felt pretty miserable but got over it fairly quickly so I hope it's the same for them.

Sean is going to play basketball tonight. I think I'll turn off the phone, finish up my homework and then spend some time reading a good book once I get Brooklyn to bed. I enjoy some peace and quiet every now and then!
--Rebecca

Aircraft at work in Ecuador

I thought we needed some photos from the field - some actual aircraft. These are all courtesy of Curtis Kelly, a mechanic that works with MAF in Ecuador.







Pilot Bruce Weid in Ecuador. It can be muddy out there!






This is the outside of our hangar looking to the west, roughly. All cleaned up and ready for a day of hard work.










The inside of our hangar with all the airplanes in there (5). It is a tight fit.

We cannot wait to journey further south and begin this aspect of our ministry. But first....better go study my Spanish!

Prayer request for Ecuador Village

As Taken from Chad Irwin, MAF pilot in Ecuador:

"We have an urgent prayer request for a community we serve, called "Molino". In the last several weeks a mystery illness has spread throughout this small village. The sickness starts out with flu like symptoms that develop into numbness of the feet that eventually spreads to paralysis of the entire body. Yesterday we flew two different patients to Quito. At least one was completely paralyzed and is on a respirator. Seven children have died in the village, 3 in one family. We have flown several Medical teams in to work in the community. So far the illness and cause is still a mystery.Most of the sick have been children in the Compassion International program. I have personally flown several of the patients and medical teams and I am very impressed with Compassion's continued efforts to do whatever it takes for this community.As I write this letter, some in Molino are saying that the sick should be taken to the witch doctor, rather than to the hospital. Please pray that through this difficult trial their faith will not waiver. Also pray for Elizabeth. She is the local Compassion worker, whose job it is to care for those who come out of the jungle for medical care. She has been running herself ragged. Late last week she got sick and at first we all feared that it might be the mystery illness. Thankfully it is just a bad cold, but she is still recovering and feeling the stress of trying to help the people of Molino. Please keep this community before the One who can heal any disease and loves the people of Molino with a love none of us can fathom."

Weekend in Panama!

We're looking forward to a Friday tomorrow. Even though we had Monday off from school, we still feel very tired and ready for a weekend. Considering that we were in Panama last weekend, I guess we are in need of some rest.

How was our trip?! Well, we drove 4 out of 5 days. But, despite weary bottoms, we had a great time. We enjoyed seeing a new country. Although it is right next to Costa Rica, Panama is very different. One difference was that the roads were much better in Panama than they are here. Once we got across the border we had a nice four lane highway - which happened to be the Pan-American highway. (From San Jose to the border we were on the Pan-American Highway as well...although with all the pot holes and the narrow, windy road one would never guess they were on such a famous highway!)

We left after classes on Thursday afternoon. Our border crossing was quite an experience. The border actually closes at 10 o'clock at night and we got there at 9:30 pm. Only by God's grace did we get through! Then it was smooth sailing on to David, Panama, where we spent the night. The next morning we were up and on our way to Panama City. It was a pretty uneventful drive. We stopped off at a beach along the way. It was a pleasant experience - actually ended up on a beach that was not a tourist stop. People were simply living out their lives there - most were fishermen, I believe. They lived in wooden houses on stilts, slept in hammocks, never wore shoes! Those people are my kind of people!

We got to Panama City after dark. Crossed the Panama Canal on the Bridge of the Americas, which connects Central and South America. We were surprised to see a beautiful city skyline with city lights reflecting off the bay. Beautiful. Breathtaking, actually.

Our driver (a Costa Rican) didn't know where our hotel was so we just stopped (in the middle of a busy highway with lots of traffic, of course) and picked up a fellow that just happened to "know" where Hotel Andino was. Well, actually, he didn't know at all where it was but we finally found our hotel, after several wrong turns! It was good to fall into bed after another long day of driving.



The next morning we met our Panamanian tour guide and he did a fantastic job of showing us the city. First we saw the Old City - where the streets are very narrow and the buildings have a colonial look to them. It was very pretty. A lot like one might picture a city in Europe. We went to a museum there and learned about the history and making of the Panama Canal.







After that we went on to the Miraflores Locks where we saw two large ships pass through the locks. It was fascinating. The Panama Canal really exists! Funny how you hear about something all your life and never really believe that it is real.








These pictures of the Panama Canal don't really do it justice. There is just something about the experience - watching these giant ships silently slip through the locks (engines are off and they are pulled by the little locomotives that you see). We are watching hundred year old technology at work!












We then took a drive through the modern city - where sky scrapers touch the sky. From there we went on to the ruins of the originial Panama City. When Captian Drake came over in the 1600's he destroyed everything with cannon fire and ransacked the city. The ruins of that city still stand. Children were playing a game of soccer right in the middle of all this!



We loved all the painted up city buses - they had everything you could imagine. From The Hulk, to Spiderman, to the Tansmanian devil!

We drove back to David on Sunday, stopping at the beach one more time. From David we drove on home to San Jose on Monday. It was long trip home but we made it - after only one breakdown! Praise the Lord, for an unforgetable experience!

Flower Power

Sean took these pictures in somebody's back yard! We're amazed at God's creation.

First Post

HOLA!

This Blog is our attempt to keep friends and family updated on our adventures in Latin America. Seems like there is always something (somewhat) interesting to share and we hear that many of our loved ones would like more news, more often. It is our goal to keep you updated on a semi-regular basis. We can't make any promises about frequency but we will do our best to add new "adventures" weekly. This is a great way to keep in touch with those of you who help support our ministry through prayers and financial support. New adventures will be posted soon, so check back often!