New Friends...

  I am very proud of myself for actually maintaining a decent conversation in spanish. I have made my first native friend here in Costa Rica. There is a very nice man who seems to be about my age who guards the street that we live on. His name is Jose and he is from Nicaragua. He has been in Costa Rica for ten years and hasn't seen his mother since he moved here. He works 365 days a year and works 12 hours a day. He will even be working this saturday, the day his wife will give birth to their first children, twins! He told me about his need to go back to see his mom because she is very sick. He also needs to leave the country so he can be legal again and then his daughters can be citizens which will allow he and his wife to be as well. My heart goes out to him and his family. He lives with his father, sister, sister in-law, wife and soon two babies. Their house is smaller than ours and all of them probably make less money than a high school kid working at a pizza place. My immediate reaction is to offer money or help, even though we have been warned not to. Please pray for us as we walk this fine line. We want to help but really we only want to do what God would have us do.  We know that we aren't here to fix the world, just to direct people to Jesus. I want to know more about how to do that. I want to understand what people truly need and when I can help their circumstances. Well I guess today it's just a journal of my thoughts. Don't be afraid to think with me and let me know what comes up.  I will do my best to get a picture in the next few days and tell you more about my new friend, and hopefully soon, friends.

May Jesus Bless You all,