Well, we're back in Puerto once again. Amy survived her surgery and everything looks good. The doctors wanted to biopsy the tumor just to make sure, but it didn't look like anything to worry about. Thank God for that. Now we are just getting back into the swing of things here with the weekend skate sessions and House Church tomorrow evening.
Last night at Youth Night we watched an incredible film about the horrible things that happened over a decade ago in Rawanda. Everyone has heard of Hotel Rawanda, which was a good movie about a difficult subject, but I almost felt like Beyond the Gates told a better story. It certainly answered the question, "Where was God in all of this?" The movie was difficult to watch but is something that I believe needs to be seen and I also believe that it really shows that people are not naturally good. We are all sinners that fall short of God's glory and without Him, we are all capable of the most horrible things. In the movie, people that had known each other for years became bitter enemies. Neighbor turned on neighbor and an entire society broke down in just a few short days.
Afterwards we had a short time of discussion and talked about the horrible things that humans are capable of and about God's love for us in spite of what we do to each other and ultimately to Him. We also got an opportunity to talk about God's version of love..."no greater love is there than this, that a man would lay down his life for his brother." It was a powerful film that spoke about sin, sacrafice, hope and peace in the middle of horror. It really hit us all hard.
Things are moving along with the house. We are quickly finding out that things are not so "inexpensive" in Costa Rica as they might first appear. We should be finalizing the purchase of the land within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, we are getting ready to install the electric cable, build a road, dig a well, put up a fence and take down a couple of dangerous trees...all just so that we can begin laying the foundation for a house that we don't even have plans for yet. Please pray for us in this...it is going to be a challenge to keep up on the construction while maintaining focus in ministry. I'm about to find out what my parents went through almost 40 years ago when they moved to Uganda as missionaries and had to start by building their own house. God help us! We are still somewhat short on the funding. If you are interested and would like to help us with this, please contact me at "barrett.alternativemissions@yahoo.com" and I can give you details on how to make a tax deductible contribution through Shepherd's Staff Missions Facilitators.
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Hey Barrett. Sounds like cool stuff going on there. Our hearts long to be there with the youth to be a part of God's work there...In His time. Of course I can't help but think what a huge assett Allen would be for you especially now if we were there. He wouldn't toot his own horn, but he's amazing with construction! Maybe there will be some things that need finishing up when we come that he could help with. We'll be praying it goes smoothly & quicly. Take care
Carol (& Allen)
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