Costa Rica
On Tue, Jan. 22 we flew to Costa Rica. This is the land where Juid & I met (many long years ago!), so it's kind of special to us. Not only is the place special, there are very special people here, such as Victoria Vargas, with whom we stayed. She has a guest room she calls the "Elisha room." She made us feel right at home.
Her nephew (and good friend of our son Kirk) Dave Diller Jr., wife Christina and daughter Mavie are here for three months and are living next door to Vicky. We had breakfast with them just about every morning. Dave's mother, Mayela, would be impressed with her son's gallo pinto (a special mixture of rice & beans). We were! Little Mavie is a doll!
Another friend, Martin Matamoros, picked us up at the airport, drove us around, and was in short, a super friend and host. Martin is a retired lawyer from the criminal justiice court, is pastor of the New Covenant church, and is interim president of the Costa Rican Mennonite conference. He's pictured here with wife Dolores.
We spend a day with DeLynn, Gloria and Carmelinda Hoover. Judi is kind of a grandma to Carmelinda since her real grandma, Doris Stauffer, passed away in 2006. They went out on the town together. D G & C are pictured here on the porch of "Elijah's Cave," the campground where groups spend the first 3 days of their 9-day "Pura Vida Missions" adventure. The porch, by the way, was built by a family missions/work team from Shiloh the summer of 2005, of which Judi and I were a part.
Judi & I got a chance to visit Jose Maria ("Chepe") Lizano, a friend of Judi's from VS days. Three years ago Chepe was paralyzed from the neck down from a gunshot while being robbed. He's pictured here with Judi and Anabelle, a good friend who worked with Judi for a time in a clinic down on the Caribbean coast, near Chepe's former home.
Ray & Susie Schlabach were one of the two missionary couples sent by RMM to Costa Rica in 1961. They lived in the Talamanca region of the county where Ray worked in translating the Bible into the Bribri language while doing church planting (or was it the other way around?!). The New Testament in Bribri was finally finished and published late in 2007. Ray and Susie have retired in Heredia, Costa Rica.
The main reason we came to Costa Rica was for Ken Miller & Dailey Mora's wedding. Ken is a longtime friend, fellow VSer with Judi in Costa Rica, fellow missionary in Ecuador, and just a good fellow all around! The wedding was held in a beautiful outdoor setting among trees, flowers, many friends, family and well-wishers. It was a special joy to be here to share in this special day with Ken & Dailey.
Toward the end of the reception a trio came to serenade the wedding guests, and Martin got them to sing "Las Mañaitas" for us.
Tomorrow we head for Nicaragua for a week to help out on an eye team. Maybe we can post something from there.