Well it is another sunny day here in C.R. but the clouds have been increasing over the last few day and it isn't dew to the change in seasons. Volcán Turrialba, which is one of many volcanoes in C.R. has been erupting the last few days spewing large amounts of ash into the air. On the 12th of March the airport had to shut down because of low visibility. As my family and I drove through San Jose we saw clouds in the sky but it really didn't look different. What we are experiencing are soar throats from breathing the fine ash in the air. Fortunately this volcano is not near any populated area and is well east of San Jose.
On another note this last week has been a whirlwind of activities that didn't have anything to do with the project I am currently working on. Monday I went with my wife, the pastor's wife, and his daughter to San Jose to shop for curtain fabric for the church. On the way back our car overheated, which it had been doing quite often lately. Fortunately I had a number of empty plastic soda bottles filled with water and was able to limp back to Gracia. So Tuesday we spent the day with the pastors daughter, whose husband is a mechanic, trying to get the car fixed. I guess the radiator had a leak in it. So Wednesday we were with out a car and so my wife and I decided to leave the kids home with the young lady staying with us to help with homeschooling and go to church on our own. We have a Wednesday night prayer service. We only live 6 miles away from our church but it takes us about 15 to 20 minutes to drive there. Since we didn't have a car we took the bus. It took over an hour to get there and almost 2 hours to get back home. Most Costaricans ride the bus because it is so much cheaper than taxis and to own a car can be rather expensive here, gas is about $5 a gallon. So Thursday comes and still no car, but we had an appointment to go to immigration to renew our youngest son's passport, he was born here in C.R. so he has dual citizenship. That trip normally takes about 3 hours total, going, doing what you need to do and returning, by car, but since we had to go by bus it took almost 8 hours. I was truly exhausted by the end of that day. So Friday comes and the car is fixed. The pastor's son-in-law only charges us $200 for the fix and labor, but that intern put a quash on my purchasing a shoulder plane. Oh, well everything has its priorities and believe me I would rather have a reliable car than carrying a nice new shoulder plane on a bus. I can truly say that I am so thankful to God for providing a car for us. Having four young kids creates quite a scene when traveling by bus. So that was my week in a nutshell.
On another topic or story as this post is so titled, I had an interesting event happen last week that really brought a smile to my heart. Life is always changing and never stays the same. Look at your own life especially regarding the friends you have had and currently have. When we were kids the friends we grew up with we thought we would spend a lifetime together. By the time we reached high school many had moved on. Today that is even more so. How many families still live in the same town they grew up in? The world has become much smaller in one way, but in another it has become bigger as distances between parents and children expand. Once we graduated high school and went to college we found new friends that once again we thought we would spend a life time together. After graduation each one went on their separate ways to pursue their career's and the friend became new again. Marriage and starting a family changes the scope of one's life to a whole new set of friends and acquaintances. Careers that cause one to move create changes in one's life quite often. I being a missionary have now lived in 10 different houses over the course of my 15 years of marriage. Throughout your entire life as you look back at the changes that have occurred and the friends that have passed through your life it is always quite enjoyable to reminisce over special times and memories. I truly love growing older and has life begins to slow down I find my thoughts drifting to times past, events in my life interacting with other friends, smiling at what a wonderful time we had together and wondering what they are up to now. I also look forward to making new friends and memories which is what this story that I want to share is all about. Last year we started working with a different church in the town of Grecia. We had spent six years helping a church here in Sarchi, but came to a point where we realized it was time to move on. This new church has a pastor that is 73 and he needs a lot of help with the ministry. It has been a real joy getting to know the people and open our house to them. We love to have people over for homemade pizza. We all gather in the kitchen to make it and have a wonderful time talking with each other. We had the pastor's entire family over a couple of weeks ago and the men we checking out my shop. They also saw the cabinets I built for our kitchen as well. The pastor's son Rolando and his wife Sonia asked me if I could replace their cabinets that had been destroyed from water damage, they were built with MDF. So I measured them and calculated the cost of the material for them. I told them I don't charge for my labor because this is a hobby and I want to use my talents to be a blessing to others. In the course of the conversation Rolando asked me if I had a table saw. I told him I had sold it and just cut the wood with a hand saw. I don't know if he understood me that I chose to sell my saw and go unplugged in my shop or not, but the other day I had to go to his house to re-measure the cabinets. It was a Sunday evening so they wanted us to stay for dinner. They had been gone in the afternoon to a car expo and when we arrive they hadn't returned yet. Their oldest son was home so we went in and I finished measuring the cabinets. Once they got back we had a wonderful evening together. As we were leaving Rolando gave me the money for the material and said they had another surprise for me. We went to his car and when he opened the hatch back there was a new contractors table saw.
Cherish every moment my friend because life is but a vapor and is gone before you know it.
Take care my friends and as always God bless
Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment