JUNE NEWS!
We have been here 12 weeks now and have only five more weeks of classes for this trimester! We are excited that we will be finishing the entire “one-year” program of Spanish in this first trimester. Because of this, Daniel and I will have the opportunity to take advanced classes in the next trimester. Most likely we will have a translation class (working on translating Spanish to English and vice-versa) and a language Bible class which will help us to learn Spanish vocabulary relating to the Bible, witnessing, other religions, etc.
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BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS!
We mentioned our neighbor, Guillermo, in our last prayer letter. We did have “cafecito” with him and his daughter, Adriana, two weeks ago. They came at 3:30 and stayed until a little after 6:30. We also spent some time with them one day last week in the park. They have invited us to their house for “cafecito” this Saturday. We are enjoying this new friendship and we are praying very hard that this will be an open opportunity to share the gospel. We are also building relationships with Walter, Betty, Ricardo and Goudy. Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom, the right words, and lots of patience!
OUR CURRENT MINISTRY…
We continue to work in Iglesia Bautista El Faro. (Lighthouse Baptist Church) in the poor neighborhood known as “Los Guidos.” We continue to have many opportunities to serve in the church through special music, preaching (Daniel), counseling, and working with people who make spiritual decisions. We feel that we are constantly learning so much about the nuances of Hispanic culture. Pray for us as we learn to adjust to Tico time schedules, the laid-back approach to everything, and general communication! We can walk away from a conversation having understood every single word and still not truly knowing exactly what the person meant! Ticos are very “indirect” in their manner of speaking, so that adds to the confusion.
LEARNING CULTURE!
One really interesting thing about living in Costa Rica is the transportation. Since we don’t own a car here, we either walk, ride a bus, or get a taxi. Walking is free, but doesn’t work well for long distances! Buses are really cheap (50¢ or less) but can be very crowded, dirty, bumpy and can take a very long time to get where you need to go. One time, we had just gotten on the bus when the driver tried to put it into gear and the transmission FELL OUT! I really don’t even know how that can happen! And then there are taxis: the fastest and most expensive way to travel. However, we have discovered that if we don’t have very far to go, the taxi driver will “forget” where the place is and will refuse to take us… or he will be very disgruntled at having to drive us a short distance!
SPECIAL ADDITION COMING UP!
Please note that next month’s addition of our newsletter will most likely consist of a very special “cover story” detailing the arrival of the new LITTLE MEE! She is due to be born between the 10th and 28th of July. Thank you for your prayers concerning all the details of the next 2-3 weeks of waiting!
WE ARE FORGETTING ENGLISH!
We are starting to forget how to speak English correctly! We find ourselves starting to phrase things as one would say them in Spanish. For example, Daniel asked an English-speaking person, “How many years do you have?” What he meant was, “How old are you?” But, in Spanish, that is how you ask someone’s age. Pray that the Lord will help our brains to work with two languages!
Thank you for your prayers!
Dan, Jen & Eliana
