World Cup Madness

Before I moved to Costa Rica, I liked soccer just fine, but I wouldn't say I followed it or would consider it my favorite sport to watch.  My Frantz family members are very faithful Dodger baseball fans, and so I know a bit of what it's like to be obsessed at times with a sport and a team.  I was in Ecuador in 2006 for the World Cup and was able to experience a bit of the craziness that is a Latin American country when their country wins a World Cup game.  But NONE of my prior life experiences have prepared me for the mayhem and celebration that has been going on here in Costa Rica during this 2014 World Cup!

A little bit of history- as a small country in Central America (we have a population of about 4.5 million and can only boast of 19,700 square miles in land size), we typically are not a World Cup powerhouse or team to be feared.  In 1990 the Costa Rica "Sele" made it to second round of the World Cup tournament, but did not make it past that.  So the fact that Costa Rica made it to the top 8 this year is just HUGE.  I could go on and on about how cool it is that they made it as far as they did, but I figure if you care that much, you either a) already know all about what I would share with you or b) could Google search it and find out from someone who knows a whole lot more than me.  

Soccer is so very important to Latinos and, well, most of the rest of the world outside of the US.  And I do have some friends from the States who follow soccer and love to watch and/or play it, but I would not say that is the majority of the country's stance.  There are too many other sports to follow to give as much importance to soccer as the rest of the world does.  That being said, my students at the Tutoring Center, my neighbors, my Tico friends of staff with me, and most of the people I talk to LOVE soccer with all their hearts.  And it has been so fun to see the people come together to celebrate their country being represented on this world stage the past month and do so well.  It gives my kids in Los Guido hope that they too can fulfill their dreams and do something different than maybe the rest of the world might tell them they will become.  The rest of the world didn't think that Costa Rica had a chance to make it out of the first round of the tournament, and they made it to the final 8.   As cheesy as it sounds, I had tears in my eyes yesterday when the Costa Rica team took a knee together during the overtime penalty shots round, showing their solidarity together and support for one another.  Sure, at the end of the day it's just a game, but I think it has come to mean much more for Costa Ricans as a people this past month.  And I'm so glad to have been able to be here to be a part of it!

Here are some pictures taken over the past weeks as we watched and celebrated Costa Rica's wins together with friends and ministry partners:

Watching the first Costa Rica game at a local pizza place with intern friends

Our watch party celebrating after the first win!!

Watching Costa Rica vs Greece at our SI office with our team members here from the States

Celebrating in the streets of Desamparados after defeating Greece

Cheering on Costa Rica with some of my Tutoring Center kids on a Friday morning game

GOAL!!!!!!  Kids from the Tutoring Center watching and cheering together.

Making signs to support the Sele and decorate the garage for the watch party together

Community, a fluid concept...

What is community?  I remember that this particular word was thrown out a lot when I was a student at Fresno Pacific University.  We talked a lot about wanting to have community, to do life in community, to be a community, etc.  When I left Visalia, CA for Costa Rica, I was leaving behind several communities: the Malaga School community where I had worked for 5 1/2 years, the Neighborhood Church community where I had worshipped and served, my friendship group and our shared community there, and my Frantz family community.  

Now that I live in Desamparados and work in Los Guido, I am again part of several communities.  My Students International friends and co-workers are my main community here.  We work together, worship together, pray together, eat together, go to movies together, have those hard conversations together, etc.  One of the difficult but also wonderful things about the SI community is that we are almost always having people enter and exit our community; staying for a time to minister and grow together, and then, most of the time, returning to where they came from.  I have met wonderful friends from all over the US and even from other countries because of the time that they have been a part of the SI Costa Rica community.  I think most of the time I view this ever changing community as exciting and a great learning experience, but sometimes it takes a toll on the heart.  It is HARD to say hello and then goodbye to people you have grown to love.  

I guess I've just been thinking a lot lately about this interesting sort of "forced" community that I am a part of here and how unique and (sometimes) challenging of a situation it can be to have a small group of us that are constant and full-time and a much larger group that is coming and going.  It is a comfort and a source of strength to know that we have a God that is constant, that is full-time, that is here in Costa Rica and in Visalia and everywhere else, and knows the things that bring joy and pain to our hearts.  And I guess it's okay that even after two years of living here and being a part of this ever changing and growing community, it isn't always easy.  

Thanks for your prayers as I continue on this journey of allowing the Lord to be enough and the supplier of my needs rather than seeking that from others.  
Here are some pics of some of the awesome members of Tara's SI Costa Rica Community:

Having frozen yogurt with some dear British friends from church

Kids at the Centro enjoying our newly donated laptops!

One of the sweet little first graders that I work with regularly

My birthday dinner with these wonderful ladies and co-workers

Girls' club field trip to a local park

Let the pictures speak for themselves

I realized that I haven't posted any pictures on my blog in several months, so rather than be super wordy today, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  These are some of the highlights of the past few months. :)

4-6 graders with our fun high school ladies from Mississippi

Jose and me, along with Fresno Pacific semester students Francisco, Marina, and Alex

Awesome team members from Bethel University

Making silly photo booth accessories with Friday girls' club

Reading a bilingual book with one of my former English students

 

In Christ Alone

There in the ground, His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again

This hymn is so powerful and every time moves me to tears.  I think it's the truth of the statement and the reality that this event actually happened.  Jesus DID die for us, and on the third day, He rose again.  We did nothing to deserve it, nothing we could do would ever be good enough to earn it.  As good of a Christian and Jesus follower I may think I am being, I still will fall short every time.

Every Easter Sunday of my life, with the exception of my first year in Costa Rica, I have celebrated Jesus' death and resurrection with my family in Shafter.  This year it turned out that I needed to travel on this special day in order to be back for work in time, and it feels strange to be among strangers in an airport.  But it's amazing how God can speak to you whenever and wherever if you are available to listen.  So while I'd prefer to either be in Desamparados or Shafter rather than Phoenix this Easter morning, I am thankful that the truth of this song and of His redeeming love is unchanging.

Loving people is risky

March is a month that traditionally is quite full for SI-Costa Rica.  It is when we have spring break short term teams come and spend 9 days with us.  We had the SI Board members come for meetings and spend time encouraging and getting to know us as staff members.  We have semester students working as interns in our ministry sites.  And we have all the regular, everyday life and job stuff and needing to fit in a little "me" time on top of that.  Needless to say, March is exciting and fun and full of blessings, but also quite exhausting. 

In addition to all that, my heart feels burdened for needs in my community and needs in students that I have come to know.  There have been attempted suicides and awful parenting choices and children going hungry.  School is cancelled quite regularly for some of my students and that is a type of educational poverty that they are living with.  Short term students come with bagage of their own, whether that be choices that they have made in the past or difficult home situations.  It makes me wonder, "can I really make a difference?  Is what I'm trying to do worth it?"  And then I have to step back and think that it's NOT about me.  I wish I could feed all the children of Los Guido, but I can't.  And even if I could, that would only solve one part of the problem.  We talk a lot about poverty with our teams and as a staff, and have come to the conclusion that it is very complex.  There IS no easy solution. 

So what is one supposed to do?  That question in itself seems to be a very "northamerican" kind of mentality, thinking that if I just "do" more, a solution can be found.  And there are actions that the Lord requires of us and would like to see us do.  But I also want to continue to learn more about "being" who Jesus wants me to be.  To allow the Holy Spirit to live and work and shine in me.  We were talking in our staff meeting on Monday that we are to be the light of the world, but I can only shine that light that the Source of the light has allowed me to shine. 

That's where I'm at right now.  Probably have more questions than answers.  And the longer I work in Los Guido at the Tutoring Center and work with hurting Costa Rican kiddos and hurting North American teens and adults, the more questions come.  Loving people is hard and can be risky.  But I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit within me.  I'm thankful for Jesus and his grace.  And I'm thankful for the Mighty God that I serve.  Those things I am sure of. 

First day of school in February?!

All my life, January and February have been some of the coldest months of the year.  And this 2013-2014 winter season has heard the words "winter vortex" and similar phrases thrown around by those who live in the U.S.  But, on the contrary, these months are the summer months here in Costa Rica, and the months when the children are on vacation from school.  They end their school year at the beginning of December, and come back to school today, the 10th of February.  So what have we been doing in the Tutoring Center, you might ask, while the children have been on vacation?  

Jose and I have taken advantage of the time that the students have been off to have different educational workshops with them as well as spend some time on basic skills that many of them lack or need to improve upon.  We have spent time cooking together, doing science experiments, had a fun water day, held "elections" for a Tutoring Center president, and many other things.  One of my favorite days was this past week when we did a literary circle with our 4th-6th grade students.  It brings such joy to my heart to see the kids enjoy reading together, and being able to have comprehension discussions about what they have read.  We even had the students do an oral presentation with visual aids that they made about what we had read together.  I was so proud.  

This coming week will maybe be a bit slow at the Tutoring Center, as the kids are getting back into their school schedule and waking up early again.  But it has been fun to have 6 or so new students coming that weren't a part of our group last year, including one adorable little girl named Tara.  I am thankful for the time that we've had to invest in the kids before they went back to school.  It's important to us that they know we are here for them to help support them in their education, and we also want to continue to dig deeper into the Bible with them and their understanding of the God who loves them.  I look forward to this new school year together!

Here are some pics to highlight some of the fun that we have been having in January/February during the students' vacations:

Making helicopters from cardboard and pencils

Pan-flutes out of PVC pipes

Home made pretzels = yummy!

Two new first graders that are oh so cute

Water day with co-worker Diego in charge of games

They talked me into playing a game that involved shaving cream...

Playing Pictureka with our current semester students

Trying to convince the rest of the 4th-6th graders to vote for her for Tutoring Center president.  She won in the end. :)

The 5th and 6th graders that came to my house for a slumber party.  Lots of popcorn, marshmallows, giggles and screams, and little sleep.  But memories made.

  

Simple thanks

Pretty regularly, thought not as often as I would like, I sit down and reflect on simple things that I am thankful for.  I think that sometimes it is easy to pray to God for the things that we need or the areas that we are struggling in, and forget to have an attitude of thanksgiving throughout the year.  My heart and spirit are

always encouraged when I am able to take a step back and say thanks to the Lord for what He has done in and around me.  Here is my most recent prayer of thanks for some of those things:

Thank you for iced hazelnut coffee, for whispy white clouds, and for a living room full of laughter and friends.  Thanks for being able to bake with kids who don't always get to be "kids" at home, for heart to heart talks with co-workers at lunch, and for a bedroom with a beautiful view out the window.  Thank you for the way you created each and every one of us unique and gifted in so many different ways.  Thanks for books and music and nature that can all point us to you.  Thanks for the access to the Internet that allows me to have sweet time with my precious niece and to send silly pictures to my brothers and parents.  Thanks for my reliable car that gets me where I need to be, and for safety as I zip around this country of crazy roads and driving.  Thanks for the freedom to vote and to voice your opinion about politics and all that stuff that goes with it.  Thanks for friends who will call you out when you're being mean and who will encourage you when you're feeling down.  Thanks for hugs from little ones and for smiles and laughs.  Thank you for each and every day you give us on this Earth.  It is a gift and I pray that I will live it to the fullest.

I'm thankful for friends like Rose

Angry Bird pizza success with some of the older students

Science experiment with the younger students