Costa Rica - Day 3 June 22, 2005

Wednesday morning - probably the toughest day of the trip. We worked hard again. It's becoming the job that never ends. I'm amazed at how much the people around me can do - surrounded by "energizer bunnies" - they keep going and going and going! My body is becoming too sore for words - aches and pains from all of the activity and to top it all off, I haven't been drinking enough water. So I'm starting to feel sick too.

The day becomes a real opportunity to remind yourself why you're here. Not for a vacation. Not to do what you want to do. Just to offer your two hands to whatever work needs to be done. Not for personal gain or glory, but merely for Jesus and the Alejuelita church. At least there are friends here to share it with. By myself, I'd have probably quit long ago. I know that I've had jobs that weren't as tough, but that I'd quit long before I had this much time in them - working at the sawmill in Kentucky, getting a job at the Irish Lion in Indiana, and probably a couple of others.

After a lunch of chicken and rice with a potato and beet salad, while pouring all the liquids in me that I can handle, I'm still feeling more tired than I ever thought possible. We are making progress. At this point, the church yard is leveled out. The ladies had gotten all of the structural steel painted and had started picking up all of the rocks on the surface of the church yard - so that it would be just dirt. The men are starting to dig back toward the educational wing and around toward the kitchen to get that ground level with the church yard. Back near the building, the ground once dug, will be at least 18 inches below it's present level and stairs will be added for people to access the educational building easily.

The rainy season kicked in that afternoon. While providing a much needed break, we also found out that they would like us to provide some music for Sunday morning. Into the church we went to work out what songs we could sing and if we had anyone who could play some accompaniment. One guitarist and a pianist in the group helped immensely and we even talked Pastor Mario into playing the guitar for us as we sang "The Old Rugged Cross" in spanish. Now that took some practice! Steph Johanpeter was asked to speak on Sunday - don't have to be concerned about it anymore for myself - and she'll in all likelyhood be the first woman to speak in that role at the church. We're not just building a building, but we're also seeing walls get relaxed if not completely broken down.

A special excursion was planned for me by my hosts for the evening. We walked about a mile and a half to meet Mirania's parents and see their house. Her parents had hosted missionary workers from past trips and were excited to see me. The questions kept coming. Fortunately Mirania's brother and sister knew a little english, so that helped to keep us connected. It was a pleasant visit at a beautiful home.

A quick prayer to keep everyone safe and to restore our worn bodies and off to sleep. Ready for another day tomorrow.