December 28: Praises and Requests

P r a i s e s:
1.  We've really enjoyed the down time we've had these last few days.  Except for our first 10 days before school started in July, we really haven't had much time to rest and relax at home. We've played lots of games, made a couple of trips to the animal shelter which the kids love and Nathan and Angelina have played soccer most afternoons at the community field.

2.  Our washing machine has been working this week!!  This is a huge praise because it has been really annoying the last couple of months because it would get stuck on each stage of the cycle so we would have to check 4-5 times on every load to see if the dial needed to be moved.  Now all of a sudden this week it has worked normally again.

3.  We are very thankful that all of us have been healthy.  George is having some minimal skin irritation (itchiness) but not nearly as bad as before.


R e q u e s t s:
1.  Please pray for George's dad, William, who is in the hospital with congestive heart failure in Alberta, Canada.

2.  Please pray for safety and good health as we travel to Panama on Sunday to renew our visas (we have to leave the country every 3 months to do this).  Our 12 hour bus ride is scheduled to arrive in Panama City at 3:00am which is not ideal so please pray that we'll be able to taxi safely to the hotel we have arranged (recommended by a Panamanian friend of a friend which is another praise). 
Pray too that our home will stay secure while we are gone.

3.  Please pray that as we enter our second half of our time here in Quepos that we'd feel a greater sense of community.  It is hard not to compare this experience to our year in Morelia, Mexico in '03-'04 where we felt strongly connected and supported in three communities: 1) the girls and staff at the Victory Center where we volunteered, 2) our church community that warmly received us and consistently invited us to church functions and family gatherings and celebrations and 3) our neighborhood where we had daily interactions and occasional social gatherings with neighbors.  Except for the one American missionary family who have been a huge support, we have felt little sense of community here.  It means the five of us spend a LOT of time together which is a blessing for sure, but it can also lead to some frustrations and interactions that are less than ideal.