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Casualties

March 11, 2006 in Day2Day, Ministry by Dave | 2 comments

Irony of ironies! I had just read Amy Maxwell’s sad post on the loss of her Palm when I left for our Luis Palau drama team practice, as always with my Pocket PC in the left pocket of my cargo pants. In the drama, we needed to simulate a car crash. Of course, when there is a car crash, usually the occupants (especially if they are not wearing their seatbelts) don’t stay in a proper seated position. In this case, as we were standing, we needed to fall towards the audience, which was to my left. I performed a classic fall, rounding my body to absorb the impact in non-critical places. It was one for the movies. However, my Pocket PC just happened to be in one of those “non-critical” areas. I felt the impact when I fell, but since I had the PC in it’s case, I thought nothing of it, but when I powered it on again, “Alas! No screen, only lines!”

Fevershly, I pulled the PC out of the case, reseting the system thinking that I might just be a glitch. No luck. Perhaps a wire that needs reseated, I thought. But after two hours of talking with tech support, pulling out and reseating wires, I found that my efforts were of no avail. My electronic friend, my Bible, my itineration manager, my newspaper, and my Spanish translator were gone in the fraction of a second.

Fortunately for me, my wife, Kelly, who just so happens to be the most wonderful person in my life has let me use hers in the time being. Thank you honey! Of course, it was also a comfort to know that it died in the line of duty.

So long faithful worker. You will be missed!

Ministry starts here

March 8, 2006 in CostaRica, Ministry, Prayer by Dave | 1 comment

Now that we have about 6 months of Spanish under our belts, we feel fairly confident to travel in San José and to go about our daily activities. Still, expressing thoughts, wishes, and feelings can be a stretch for our minds and our mouths. So sharing about our relationship with Christ in Spanish has been a challenge to say the least. Still, we are aware that ministry is not just what is waiting for us in Mexico. Ministry starts here in language school as well.

That is why when the students from CINCEL had been given the opportunity to participate in the Luis Palau festival we felt lead to join the team. This weekend’s festival which features Luis Palau, considered to be the Latin Billy Graham, is expected to draw upwards of 100,000. We have been working on a 15 minute “mini-show” to present during the children’s portion of the program. During this show we will be presenting a clear message of the gospel in Spanish to which the children watching the program will be given an opportunity to respond.

Please pray for the following:

  • That all of the logistics of the campaign will move smoothly.
    That God will prepare the hearts of those who will attend the festival to hear the message of the cross of Jesus.
  • That God would work through our “mini-show” as well as the other events in order to motivate children and adults to have a relationship with Him.
  • That God would help Luis Palau to communicate clearly the message of reconciliation with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
  • That the cooperation among the evangelical churches that this festival has provoked will continue.

Reminders of home at 11,000 feet

March 2, 2006 in CostaRica, Media, Nature, Thanks by Dave | 1 comment

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to visit the volcano Irazú. This volcano, located directly east of San José is most generally known for it’s eruption of March 19, 1963, the day the President Kennedy visited the country. At the summit of this now dormant volcano, one can find a strange, cold and almost moon-like surface. As well as a temperature has been known to create frosts in this tropical country. However, few of the group of students that traveled to visit this natural wonder were expecting to see this placard of US culture waiting for us when we arrived.

It appears that the US Department of the Interior once had an earthquake monitoring station here at the summit of Volcán Irazú, and this metal plate was a remnant of their operations. What at one time may have served as a tool for scientists served on Saturday as a reminder of the thoughts and prayers of family and friends back home for a small group of missionaries. And to those who continue to show their love and support we say, “Thank you!”

We felt no “temblors” while we were exploring the terrain, but we did get some great pictures. Take a look at them now by clicking on the picture to the right or by clicking here.

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From Everywhere

February 27, 2006 in CostaRica, Missions by Dave | 1 comment

During our time on the itineration trail, we had the chance to share with some groups that missions is a world-wide mandate, that God is calling people from everywhere to go everywhere in His name. We have several examples of this reality here in the English program at CINCEL, people that have been called from nations traditionally classified as missionary receiving countries. One of those examples is Jaime Chacon.

Jaime, together with his wife Jacqueline have responded to God’s call to go to the United States. They will serve South Carolina and the surrounding area by spearheading an effort to raise up missionaries, first to reach the expanding Hispanic population in the region and then to train those who would respond to go to the world.

Jaime and Jacqueline are slated to begin their first term in the U.S. in January 2007. Their main focus will be the creation of a district-wide missions department which will assist with church planting among Hispanics, and then be available to train missionaries called out of the region.

Called into missions at the age of 17, Jaime felt a burden to reach the Arab nations, but as he followed the leading of his heart, it became clear that God was redirecting him to the U.S. to train others who would go: “I believe,” said Chacon “that God blesses those nations that send missionaries, It is our desire that The United States continues to receive that blessing.”

Some interesting facts about the need for Hispanic missionaries to reach into the U.S. from other countries:

  • Hispanics make up the largest ethnic group in the U.S. By the year 2016 they will make up 25% of the total population.
  • These Hispanics living abroad, many thousands of miles away from family and friends are open to the message of the gospel as never before.
  • Hispanics, in some instances, have the ability to go to countries that are closed to U.S. missionaries.

Spring Newsletter is Available

February 27, 2006 in Media by Dave | Permalink

Our latest newsletter is now available on-line in PDF format. Just click on the image, or here to read about:

  • La Tarea
  • From the Family Side

and more!

Things are different here…

February 23, 2006 in CostaRica, Culture, Day2Day by Dave | Permalink

I was working in the kitchen by the window that overlooks the cul-de-sac between CINCEL and our house, when I saw an ambulance arrive. Concerned that there might be some kind of injury in our park or some kind of emergency, I watched as it came to a stop outside our gate. However, imagine my surprise, when the door opened to reveal teenagers passing out phonebooks.

Yes, things are different here in San Jose than in the U.S. Some other differences include:

  • You have to ask for the bill here in any restaurant. If you don’t, you could be waiting for it the entire night.
  • It is extremely impolite to throw anything. If you need to pass something to someone, you need to hand it to them or have another person pass that object.
  • There are no area codes in Costa Rica. All phone calls to every part of the country are local calls.

I’ll add more to this list as differences come to mind.

A passage I love

February 14, 2006 in Devotional by Dave | 1 comment

In the past weeks I have joined a sort of community of evangelical missionary bloggers whose blogs can be found at www.missionary-blogs.com. I felt that this was a wise move as I wanted to be exposed to what the evangelical community is doing as a whole in regard to mission, and be able to communicate to a broader range of missions prayers, thinkers, and doers (sic.).

Of course part of being in a community is one’s participation in that community. That being said, Jim, the coordinator of the effort has asked us to write about a Bible passage that has been particularly significant in our lives. This is part of an effort to encourage our readers with the Word. Therefore, I have decided to write about Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (NIV)

There are several reasons that I love this verse:

1. It speaks of the crucifixion, one of the central messages of the Gospel. The Son of God came to earth to die, taking our sins so that we could be acceptable to the Father. No matter how much I reflect on that concept, it never fails to move me.

2. It speaks of the newness of my life in Christ. It is no longer David Godzwa, the angry, hurt, young man, dealing with the pain of a split household and his own feelings of inadequacy who lives. That boy has died with Christ. Alive now is the man who has found his identity in knowing God and being known by Him, and the peace and security of a relationship with God has allowed me to move in forgiveness, and to live a life that seeks the good of others instead of operating from the pain of past wounds.

3. Finally, it reminds me that, although God’s love is big enough to embrace the whole world (Jn. 3:16), it is also specific enough to touch each person exactly where he or she might be. God loves me. Yes, “For God so loved the world…” but God loves me. I might be insignificant in the eyes of those around me, but God thought that I was important enough to die for.

“Deja Vu All Over Again”

February 7, 2006 in CostaRica by Dave | Permalink

Costa Rica held its presidential elections this past weekend, an event that occurs here every four years. There were 14 parties (sample ballot) that were running for a chance at the executive post, but, as it is in the United States, only two contenders, Óscar Arias of the National Liberation Party and Ottón Solís of the Citizen’s Action Party had realistic possibilities of winning the election. As of early January, it seemed as though the race would be extremely one-sided, but the elections turned into a dead heat in the final days with Arias falling while Solís gained support. Still, no one was prepared for what happened at the polls on Sunday.

Turn out was lower than normal, with about 36% of those registered abstaining. The streets, normally choked with voters going to the polls were virtually quiet until the late afternoon, but inside the booths, events were happening that would have people talking for years. Because, as it stands now after 90% of the votes have been counted only 3,429 votes separate the top contenders. With the separation this close, The Supreme Elections Tribunal is now begining a manual recount of the votes. (Sound familiar?) The difference here is that there is no Electoral College here in Costa Rica, the president is elected by gaining at least a 40% majority of the popular vote. So, if the margin of victory is only one vote between Arias and Solís, the man with the most votes wins.

We got a chance to drive through the city on Sunday to view the event with Costa Rican missionaries, and as you can see from the pictures in this post, the people tend to identify with their candidate a bit more than we do in the States. In fact, Election Day, being a Sunday, takes on the air of a festival, with vendors on the streets and people going about displaying their alliances. The only difference is that this is a decidedly dry holiday, as no liquor is sold from Friday until Monday morning, a measure taken to force poll-goers to make sober decisions. Still, as the count went well into the night, with no clear winner determined, several went about their Mondays “hung over” from the indecision of Sunday night.

Coffee: “El grano de oro”

February 4, 2006 in Coffee, CostaRica, Culture by Dave | Permalink

Coffee is more than a morning beverage here in Costa Rica. It is the product that transformed this country into what it is today. In the 1800s when coffee was first brought to Costa Rica, this country was a small, remote, unimportant part of the Spanish Empire. But when coffee was introduced, the people found that the product flourished in the rich volcanic soil and high altitudes that were readily available.

The superior product soon created a demand, and the Costa Rican government, wanting to speed production, provided incentives for farmers to begin to cultivate coffee. Not only did this bring about the Costa Rican coffee industry that is know world-wide today, but it also created a strong, independent middle-class that has hosted the 2nd oldest democracy on the continent. (US has the oldest.) For Costa Rica, coffee truly is the “bean of gold.”

The students and faculty of CINCEL recently took a trip to Britt, one of the most recognized producers of coffee here in Costa Rica, in order to gain a bit more appreciation for this wonderful drink that has played a large role in the shaping the Costa Rican culture.

Click on the picture to the left, or here to view the photos of the tour.

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Worlds Collide: Coke as a Sacred Drink

January 29, 2006 in Maya, Mexico by Dave | 1 comment

If you’ve gotten a chance to look at our About Us page, you know that we are headed to Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, which is the gateway to some of the Maya people’s most popular cultural sites.

Well, I was going through the aggregator at missionary-blogs.com, when I came upon something that just couldn’t wait to be shared. It seems as though a piece of American Culture emanating out of the city of Atlanta Georgia has been so wholeheartedly embraced that it has now become part of a religious ritual.

This Mayan Coke Ritual explained in this video blog shows Coca Cola being used as a sort of “holy water” during a Maya ceremony. Finding this a bit hard to swallow (pun intended) I did a bit more searching, and found this Newsweek article on this same phenomenon. I guess that this is an example of globalization at its finest and a glimpse into the Maya mentality.

Again, here is the Maya Coke Ritual Video at cotrillcompass.com
and here is the Newsweek article

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