It can be lonely down here!

All the Ticos (Costa Ricans) are doing Christmas stuff and obviously our family and friends in the U.S. are too as the emails are getting scarce. Our neighborhood is quiet and our days are long. Just like at your house, for these two weeks life revolves around Christmas and New Years (which is a bigger celebration in Costa Rica than in the States).

We have lots of parties and special things at church to attend but they are almost all over and families are gathering to celebrate in their own way. MKs are back from the U.S. - some bringing friends. So those missionary families with children on the field or unmarried have a house full and are delighted.

Some of us without family visitors are getting together Christmas Day to eat and remember the birth of our Lord, but until then - it can be lonely down here!!

Christmas Thoughts

This time of year prompts varying attitudes. Some people are caught up in the joy of the season. Others feel depressed. For some, Christmas is a time of remembering...nostalgia, or longing for separated loved ones. Just a few days ago as we were visiting a family in a small town, an older daughter in the family mentioned that she didn't like Christmas. I was hesitant to ask why, but did anyway. Her response was sad. She cited the fact that they were poor and didn't have decorations or presents. She wasn't hinting or anything like that...just stating a fact. It made me sad too, for her. Her mother, with a smile, said, "Maybe it will be better next year." I am torn between being sad for those whose Christmas won't be what they would like and rejoicing in the "reason for the season."
Costa Ricans do decorate. There are lights, Christmas trees, and plenty of Christmas decor in the stores. It's a big deal...just like in the states. Choirs are singing in the malls, there is Christmas music on the radio.
I'm not sure which is worse...the cultural "Christianity" of Latin America or the growing secularist attitude of the states. (Can you believe "Holiday" trees?) A couple of things come to mind: First, it doesn't matter how much you use the name of God or talk about Jesus, if you don't know Him personally, it's only knowledge by reputation. Secondly, no matter how much you try to obliterate His name from the public forum, He still is and will be Lord forever.

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Foreign Missions

The old joke is about the guy who asked, "Who is that Lottie Moon anyway? Every year we take a special offering for her." And of course often we talk about the "Lottie Moon Offering" as if everyone knew what it is all about. Well, most Southern Baptists do know, but then, all of you aren't Southern Baptists, are you? Suffice it to say that Lottie Moon was a missionary to China many years ago and the Baptist annual offering for foreign missions is named after her. This annual offering comes around at Christmas time and is a vital part of supporting us Baptist missionaries.

Many missionaries, maybe most, have to raise support to live on the mission field. Our method is different. Southern Baptist missionaries are supported by the offerings of thousands of churches who freely send their offerings to the International Mission Board, who administers the funds. It is a method that has served missions well for many years. There are approximately 5,000 IMB missionaries on the field at this time and the number is growing.

For those of you who are Baptists and give annually, some sacrificially, to the missions offering, thank you. Your giving makes our work possible. For the sake of the kingdom, pray earnestly about your gift this year. Many have given to disaster relief after Katrina, and that is good, but there is still work to be done all over the world to reach the lost.

Huecos and life

Mitzi and I made a quick trip to Liberia, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya to visit some pastors who had helped with the work in those areas. Left Friday, returned on Saturday. As you may know, the roads in Costa Rica are notoriously bad, but the roads toward Liberia are especially bad. It's not that they aren't paved. In fact, it might be better if they weren't. The problem is the huecos. Huecos are ugly cousins of chug holes, which are kin to pot holes. The trouble with huecos is that they are generally found in bunches, where chug holes tend to be more isolated. And huecos aren't like pot holes in a dirt road. Pot holes can be worn down and have smooth edges. Not huecos. These babies are sharp-edged and often deep. These demons can rip a tire right off the rim.
As we drove along, at times swerving crazily to try and miss the huecos, an analogy came to me. Driving along these roads is a lot like living life.
For one thing, much of the road is shaded by overhanging tree limbs. The mottled shadows on the road obscure your vison and make it hard to spot the huecos because they tend to lurk in the darkness and wait for you to fall into them. Most of our problems in life are unexpected. Although...at a couple of places there are warning signs. The signs say, "Caratera en mal estado," (Road in bad condition.) Interestingly, the signs are not temporary, but permanent, worn and rusty...(Does this tell you anything?) Maybe because these signs have been there so long, because they are old, because they aren't new and shiny, glitzy or sparkly, they just get ignored. (The Bible?) Some things are just going to be there. Be warned.
I discovered there are various ways to handle the huecos. One way is to follow closely the cars in front of you. Just do what they do. Problem here is that you will hit the same huecos they hit. Another method is to lay back a little and watch the car ahead. If he hits a hueco, take a different track. (Some say if you just go fast enough, you will fly over the huecos and the ride will actually be smoother....hmmm, I don't think so.) Based on my own research, I think the experience of others is helpful, but keeping a close eye on the road and your hands on the wheel is a good tactic. You can't just stop. You have to keep going, but to ignore the menacing huecos in the road would be foolhardy, not to mention dangerous and expensive.
Another challenging element of journeying through hueco country is that they aren't consistent. The road is smooth for a while, then, wham, here they are again...no warning, no leading up to them...You are just suddenly in huecolandia again. Often as you are leaving a huecoous area, you meet cars approaching,usually at a rapid pace. The thought comes,"Wow! They better slow down. They're going to hit those huecos too fast and tear up their car." Once we saw a shiny, surely new, Porsche RUV coming. I hoped he wouldn't tear up his nice expensive car. We briefly debated whether the huecos would do damage to a car that expensive or if a car that expensive should be able to withstand the shock of the huecos. Don't know the answer to that, but I suspect that huecos will tear up any car if hit without care. Would have been nice to have been able to warn all the oncoming cars of the danger ahead.
That's kind of a part of what we want to do. Life is full of dangerous huecos. You're going to hit some of them, but many can be avoided with care and proper warning. We want to help people and give them a warning sign and some instructions...albeit a sign that many see as old, rusted, out of date, and irrelevant. But properly heeded, that sign can help us avoid many of the huecos of life.