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Costa Rica Update (2)

It’s the final day of the year and we’re spending it in Jaco, Costa Rica. We left Manu early yesterday morning. Our final night there included a lively game of Pictionary and in the morning Andy got up early to help make tortillas. We carry with us many good memories of our stay there. Our guide, Nancy, and her boyfriend, Tom were especially helpful. Mackenzie managed to get both Tom and Nancy to carry her on two different nature hikes.

We visited another National Park yesterday on our way to Jaco. Beautiful and a bit strenuous. Since I haven’t been swimming for the past week, it felt good to get some exercise. On the way to the coast we also stopped on a bridge to check out the crocodiles. We saw at least eight cruising the waters below. Too bad it wasn’t feeding time. They were content and so were we to watch them from above.

We arrived in Jaco in the late afternoon. Our hotel is run by a Dutch family, Hotel Mar de Luz, and the accommodations are pleasant. The kids spent most of the afternoon in the pool. Matthew and I took a hike to a local surf shop where we rented boards. We were paddling into waves just before sunset. A bit bigger waves would have been nice and yet the experience of warm air and water, green mountains in the distance and my son at my side was a great way to end the day. It also marked the beginning of the next leg of our journey here. This morning we woke before 6 and wandered down to the beach. The waves were breaking just right. After two hours in the water, I was spent. We headed back to the hotel for breakfast and right now we’re lounging a bit before we head back to the beach.

Internet connections around here are hard to find. At least, it’s hard to find a place where I can connect my personal laptop. I sat in the administration office at Manu the other night and it took about 10 minutes to upload a single picture. We’ll see how it goes today. Right now I'm sitting at the front desk trying to get the first picture uploaded. Too much more time and I'm giving up.

Other highlights from yesterday: Matthew didn’t drink enough water and so he fainted in the lunch line and Andy couldn’t see where he was walking last night and he stepped into a storm drain. Both are fine and a bit wiser. Joy scored 75 points in Scrabble with the word: Equate. That makes here the reigning Scrabble Queen.

Joy at the first stop on the Canopy adventure.

Mackenzie on the final ride. She was semi-smiling at this point.

Those who know Matt well would not be surprised to know that he loved every minute!

Joy's winning word!

Tonight we're celebrating the New Year here in Jaco! Happy 2008!

Costa Rica Update (1)

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

It's 3:13 on Wednesday afternoon. We spent most of the day traveling here to Centro Manu. It's a beautiful retreat center. The grounds are well-kept. Even now there is a man tending the plants outside our cabin. He's doing the work with a machete. I think I'd last about a half hour in these conditions. Everyone is out on a nature hike. I decided to stay back to get refreshed with a little alone time. Reading and writing sound good to me. My observation so far is that Costa Rica is an incredible combination of Hawaii, Mexico, San Francisco and Tahiti. It has the lush vegetation and many waterfalls like Hawaii. The language and culture remind me of Mexico, as do the brightly colored rocks and buildings. The steep winding roads compare to what you might find in the hill country of San Francisco. And finally, I'm including Tahiti on the list because it feels the same but there's much more space here.

We'll see how it goes with bugs here. We've lathered up the bug spray. Unfortunately, the only window in this cabin without a screen is in the room Joy and I are staying in. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.

On the way here we drove past almost 100 waterfalls according to the count Mackenzie was keeping. She may have missed a few. We stopped at a grocery store called MegaSuper and spent something like twenty-seven thousand colones. It seemed like a lot to me for cookies and Cokes.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

We had to wake early in the morning for a trip to a beach on the Caribbean side of the country. The night had been restful but not as restful as the first night. We definitely need another blanket on our bed. Our accommodations are adequate. All that we need, really. There's plenty of room in our cabin and our porch has become the gathering place for the whole family. The entire cabin isn't much larger than the houseboat we rented with my family few years ago on Lake Mead. Not sure I want to take that kind of trip again. Here things are a bit more relaxing.

The ride to the beach was uneventful, which is exactly what you hope for in a place like this where big trucks are common and passing on the left is more like a sport. The place we visited was one of the National Parks of Costa Rica. It was called Cahuita Beach (you can check it out if you want; my internet access is limited). On the short walk to the beach we passed leaf-cutter ants and a few monkeys. Seriously, there were monkeys hanging out just beyond the sand. The water was incredibly warm and salty. The waves were consistent but they offered only the quickest ride. We lathered up the sunscreen and most of us spent a few hours in the water. Lunch on the beach consisted of a sandwich and bananas. Tasted great after a good workout in the water.

At this moment there's a heated game of Uno happening on the porch. It's kind of fun to enjoy a change of pace. No television or other distractions. Life is pretty simple around here. The beauty is breath-taking. As for the bugs I worried about last night, I'm pleased to say I must not be to the liking of the bugs around here. You can hear them all through the night but so far they haven't tasted my thin California blood.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

It's Saturday morning, almost nine o'clock. We've all slept in because we don't have a big agenda today (the second blanket on the bed makes good sleep more accessible). The plan is to make breakfast for ourselves (French Toast), relax, drink coffee and then see about a hike later this morning. It's about the right speed for me because yesterday was a big day.

Long Sleep

We walked the gardens and enjoyed the sauna yesterday. Our whole family was a bit on edge, especially me. Could it be the lack of sleep? After dinner we headed to bed at 7:30 and we slept solid until 9 this morning. Much better!

The skies are clear and it's going to be a great day.

I'm not sure what internet access will be like at Centro Manu but if it's there I'll blog a bit and post a few pictures. Stay tuned!

Christmas Day in Costa Rica

This morning we arrived to cool weather here in Costa Rica. I hope it warms up because I brought little more than a pair of flip flops, shorts and t-shirts. We’re staying in a nice hotel for this first night and tomorrow we’ll head to Centro Manu for four days. The grounds here at the Hotel Bougainvillea are amazing. Beautiful tropical vegetation with a maze and several bridges. That's all for now. We're heading out to the sauna to get warm. Merry Christmas to all!

As a final word, let me say again how much I appreciate the people I serve with at Village. The music last night was absolutely incredible. We are blessed to have talented people like Matthew and Kimberly leading us in worship. And the team surrounding them is top notch! Thanks to Jonathan, Rob, Gene, John, Michael for all you do throughout the year. We were also blessed to have Steven and Ava with us again this year. Having the four Starks together was a real treat. Thanks also to Zim and Robin for all you do to keep things running smoothly. Thanks to those who helped with costumes for the nativity portrait and thanks to Leanne Strommen for telling the story in a way for all to appreciate. It was a wonderful celebration! Okay, really that's all. I've got a sauna to visit.

Satchmo

Andrew recently learned a Christmas carol on his trumpet. It's my new favorite, for obvious reasons. (I have no idea why the picture and sound are not in sequence, kinda weird)

100 Days

I recently completed a fitness goal I set for myself back in August. I wanted to complete 100 days of either surfing or swimming, everyday. It was a goofy way to deal with my own grief at the loss of a good friend. Kurt was an amazing guy and his death at 42 was hard to accept. I set the goal on the day following his funeral. Originally, I figured I would do 100 consecutive days (set a lofty goal, right?). But then I woke up at midnight after NOT surfing or swimming on that day. There was no way I could make it up. Day 25. So should I start the count over? What if I mess up again near day 49? I decided to keep the count going and give myself some grace along the way. I'm glad I did. It feels like the 100 days were good for me physically and emotionally. I thought about Kurt in the water. I'd catch a wave or two for him and I'd pray for his family. I only wish I had just one more day to spend with him.

In preparation for a conference in January, I've been reading Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr. On pages 45-46 he writes, "We seldom go freely into the belly of the beast [as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish]. Unless we face a major disaster like the death of a friend or spouse or loss of a marriage or job, we usually will not go there. As a culture, we have to be taught the language of descent. That is the great language of religion. It teaches us to enter willingly, trustingly into the dark periods of life. These dark periods are good teachers. Religious energy is in the dark questions, seldom in the answers. Answers are the way out, but that is not what we are here for. But when we look at the questions, we look for the opening to transformation. Fixing something doesn't usually transform us. We try to change events in order to avoid changing ourselves. We must learn to stay with the pain of life, without answers, without conclusions, and some days without meaning. That is the path, the perilous dark path of true prayer."

Acts

I was reading Newsweek magazine this morning and was surprised to see Garrison Keillor put "The Acts of the Apostles" at the top of his list of "Five Most Important Books" (online article here). An interesting choice. He didn't choose the whole Bible or even one of the Gospels. He put Acts at the top. And he doesn't strike me as someone who would give one of the books of the Bible an obligatory nod. It made me think, clearly, this is a book that has inspired him. I look forward to the ways it will inspire us in 2008 because we're devoting the whole of the year to a study of Luke and Acts. I hope the story will inspire us to go bravely and dangerously onward as well.

Christmas Letter 2007

I look forward to this time of year because I love catching up on the lives of people we've connected with through the years. Letters come to us most recently from Fullerton and Huntington Beach. We'll even get a few cards from overseas (England and Sweden).

It has been our tradition for many years to send a black and white letter with tons of pictures and a few words of commentary. We have yet to enter the color era and we have long discussed our desire to send a single, perfect picture. Our friends do an awesome job of choosing just the right shot. My favorites are the ones that make me laugh.

The black and white edition of our Christmas letter travels to friends via snail mail but the color version can always be found here. So why wait for the black and white edition? Click on the image and enjoy our 2007 Christmas Letter.

Blessings to you in this Christmas season and if you happen to be near Ladera Ranch on Christmas Eve, be sure to join us for a 4 o'clock service at the Ladera Ranch Middle School. I know you'll love it!

Dead Sea Scrolls

Joy and I traveled down to the Natural History Museum in San Diego yesterday to see the Dead Sea Scrolls along with Greg and Susan Lubushkin. Seeing the actual fragments was amazing but even more so, the exhibit features lots of background material. I was especially moved by the scroll called the "Messianic Apocalypse." It describes the coming of a Messiah who would preach good news to the poor, open the eyes of the blind and raise the dead. Sounds like Jesus to me.

I also enjoy the pictures of the bold, young archeologists who excavated the site where the scrolls were discovered in the late 1940s. I doubt the experience was anything like the adventures of Indiana Jones but it did make me wonder. A jeep, a pith helmet, khaki shorts and shirt, it doesn't take much to make this man happy.

If you want to see the exhibit, you better hurry. There's only a few more days left.

Love It!

This is a crazy time of year for many of us and as I was sitting at Starbucks this morning, I realized how much I love this season. Maybe it was the Christmas blend coffee I was enjoying or the sounds of Vince Guaraldi's trio playing through my headphones. I sat there with my Bible open, studying the text from Luke 1:26-38, occasionally glancing at my view of the San Juan Mission through the window and that's when it hit me: life is good.

Thanks be to God for the many blessings we enjoy in this world. Thanks be to God for sending us his Son so that we might live the abundant life!