Tara Talk: The time that Mom and Mississippi and Arizona came

Two posts in one day, that's not really like me! :) But I thought I'd post a bit about what has been happening the last month or so in the ministry site as it has been quite the exciting time. If you read my previous post, you will know that this weekend marks my 3rd anniversary of moving to Costa Rica. It's hard to believe that three years ago I was practically a stranger at the Tutoring Center and to my SI staff. Now I feel like I belong here, I greatly value my SI family and love all the kids that I know in the Los Guido community dearly.

The past few groups that we have had serve with us at the Centro have been really special groups that have had a really neat connection with the kids that I work with on a daily basis. A few weeks ago, we had a group of women, mostly from California, come for an outreach. On that team was my mom and a good friend of our family, Karen. My mom had asked me if it was okay with me if she was placed at the Tutoring Center for the outreach, and I was almost offended that she would even need to ask. Of course I would want my mom to work with me and my kids for a week! Having "Tara's mom" here was a big hit, and those who had met my dad in the past wanted to know why he didn't come too. The other two women that were at our site were also wonderful helpers, one of which was a woman in her 70s who had been a missionary to the Philippines in the past, and the other a Visalia native who was a reading specialist. And though you wouldn't think of it when you looked at them, those three ladies were AWESOME four square players and could hold their own with our students.

This past week we have had a group of high school students from Christian high schools in both Mississippi and Arizona. We had a group of 5 junior and senior students, and they did an awesome job of using the little/moderate amount of Spanish they knew and connecting with our kids. I think that the thick, Southern accents were a bit challenging for my kids to understand, but between smiles and hugs and tickles and basic Spanish phrases, communication was made possible. These kids reminded me of myself in high school- in love with Jesus and wanting to see what He had for me in the future. Insecure in many areas but sure of my love for kids and education. I'm so thankful that they gave up a week of school and invested their time in the lives of my kids who will not soon forget them.

Something that I don't always have the opportunity to do is to share my testimony with the groups that come, but I was able to do that this past week with the entire group of high school students and their leaders. It can be a bit of a spiritual battle for me to share with them because I could easily feel like I don't have anything really exciting or "dramatic" to share with them like some of my co-workers do. But God confirmed in me my story and my sharing when one of the seniors that worked with me this week shared that my story impacted her and encouraged her that she too could pursue being a single missionary woman in the future. I was so blessed to hear that and know that the Lord can use any and all of our stories for His good, we just need to be willing and obedient to share.

Below are some pictures to highlight time spent with these two amazing teams: