Esté Preparado

As I write this post, Karen and I are packed to take a short trip to Jarabacoa Republica Dominicana for 5 days to get housing finalized and sign Janae and Marcy up for school. We will also be doing a few other things to get ready for our move there the end of April. There is no school all next week as it is Holy Week (Semana Santa) , so it seemed like a good time to get some of this done. There are a couple of students in the school here that will be staying with the girls while we are gone. Marcy could not understand why they can’t just stay by themselves, “Janae knows how make food for us!!!”  We will be coming back on Thursday evening and then there are only two weeks of classes left for us. It hardly seems possible that our time here is nearing the end, yet so much has happened since arriving.

The title of this post “Be prepared” was the theme of my devotional on March 29^th from Luke 12:40. In short, the verse talks of always being prepared for Christ’s returns. But it goes deeper than that. I mentioned before that during our orientation here at language school, they impressed on all of us that most likely God has much more for us to learn here than just another language. We need to be constantly looking for him at work in our lives and “always be ready” for him to show up in the most unlikely places. Over the last number of months here, that has been so true. He has shown up when we least expected it and yet when we thought he should show up, it seemed He was so distant. Some of the ways he has shown up in our lives here are: the way all 5 of us so easily adapted to the life and culture here in Costa Rica, the way that we have not felt cramped in our seemingly small apartment here. The patience that all of our teachers have shown us during class time (giving me 7 months without falling asleep one time in class J), providing us with the two tutors for that little more teaching and practicing that we needed during this last couple of months, and surprising us with such a strong support base that allows us to be here and then on to the Dominican. God is good, All the time. All the time, God is good.

Karen and I both feel good at where we are in our Spanish now and we are ready to move on and keep learning once we have moved. We will need to check out what kind of options are there to continue learning once we get there, but for now we feel like we are where we need to be.  Thanks again for all the prayers, notes, emails, packages, calls, ……….. THANKS.

March activities

   Life in Costa Rica is flying by faster and faster. Just as the seasons change and move on to the next stage, we are also beginning to think about what our next step will look like for our lives. In just 3 short weeks, Karen and I go to Jarabacoa to locate housing for us at the end of April. We will also be talking to the school about Marcy and Janae and getting that all lined up. We will be doing a few other small things as well.

         School continues to go good for all of us as usual. Janae is learning many new words and phrases in her Mandarin Classes on Tuesday afternoon. Marcy enjoys her weekly spelling words (NOT). And Nina knows all the other students by name as she meets them in the halls and everyone knows Nina. Karen has been helping with the worship team during chapel on Tuesday and Thursday morning sometimes. 

Karen and I have begun working with another tutor, in addition to the teacher that we continue to go to at 12:15 each day. We are reminded daily of how much we have learned already and yet we want to get as much as we can before we leave the end of April.

      There are several feria’s in the area. They are the equivalent to a farmers market but somewhat larger in size. They are generally on Saturday or Sunday, depending on which one we go to. Normally Marcy and I go to one on Saturday mornings that is only about 1/2 - 3/4 mile from our apartment so it is closer than any of the others. Last Sunday we were all out walking and ended up at a different one that was set up on Sunday’s. As we were in the middle of it, I had the idea of showing you what they look like.

                                       

                                                                                               

It really isn’t as bad as it appears; it is quite a challenge though to get what you’re after without being taken advantage of. It is a great place to practice Spanish with the venders. Since we normally go at 6:00 am before they get busy, they enjoy talking with me and helping me out. Following that weekly trip comes the time to soak it all in a bowl with some bleach to kill all of the …….. Well, let’s just say it helps to remove some of the “foreign matter”. Much of the fruit does not really have a season, so it is always available and fresh. Pineapples, bananas, strawberry’s, avocados, and potatoes are just a few of those. With the help of my sister Barb in Angola Indiana, I was able to make a batch of strawberry jam this week. Thanks Barb for sending the Certo Pectin. Fresh made Banana Bread has become an item that is readily available on our dining room table. (It has even come in handy for bribing teachers once in a while!).

     As we begin planning to move on to the DR, we would like your prayers for our time left here in Costa Rica. That we would finish strong in class and that we could continue to focus on our learning and not be distracted as we get closer to moving. Also be praying for those in Jarabacoa Republica Dominicana as they prepare for our arrival there.

Be anxious about nothing

Things in San Jose are warming up a bit. Normally it begins to warm up the middle of Feb and continues to get warmer until the end of April. With us moving to a much warmer climate in the Dominican Republic the last week in April, God has once again supplied us with another answer to a prayer that we didn’t even know to ask for, a way to gradually get used to the warmer climate in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic.  School is going good this second half for all of us. The ESL classes that Janae and I are helping with are also going good. The lady that was leading my class had to leave early so I will be finishing those that run through the end of March. It is a lot like leading the Junior Achievement classes that I was a part of at Westview and Lakeland the last 8 years or so. The students that I have are in the lower level of English (which is a great fit for me wouldn’t you say?  J).

                We had a pleasant surprise on Monday of last week with an email from a friend at home saying they may stop in later in the week for a quick visit since they were flying into the San Jose area. As we looked forward to that, it began to look like that opportunity would not actually happen, with them losing electricity for a short time in Indiana and then our internet being down at the school most of last week, the communication between us basically stopped after that first email. However on Friday afternoon while I was doing homework at the park with the girls, here they come walking up. Larry and Dot Chupp along with Steve Schrock. 

We quickly found them a place to spend the night about 4 blocks from our apartment and then enjoyed the rest of the evening with them talking about old times and catching up on each other’s lives. During the evening we were able to SKYPE my folks in Texas so they could also enjoy our visitors. Technology has allowed our time here to be a much smoother transition with being able to have that contact with friends and family. Saturday morning I had the opportunity to walk with them downtown to look at some of the places they remembered when they had all three been here over 30 years ago. Soon after lunch on Saturday, we said our good byes as they headed to the airport to pick up Paul Kurtz from Ohio to begin the activities that actually brought them to Costa Rica. Thanks to all three of you for sharing that day and a half with the U’s. It meant a lot to us.

                As far as the title of this post: During the message on this past Sunday morning I was as discouraged as I have been for a while as far as understanding Spanish goes. As it seemed like that particular morning, nothing was making sense and I was really struggling to understand much of it at all for some reason, I had to think during the service that “we have been here for exactly 6 months to the day now, and this is all I am picking up out of this message?” I was missing the bible texts and several other points. Anyway, I found it interesting that close to the end of the sermon, the pastor said “convertir a Filipinas el capítulo 4 versículo 6, Por nada estéis afanosos; sino sean notorias vuestras peticiones delante de Dios en toda oración y ruego, con hacimiento de gracias” (Philippines 4:6  ) and I heard that like it was said in English, “In nothing be anxious, but in everything (even Spanish) by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God”.  I needed that reminder to not try so much on my own works and desires, as much as prayer, and thanking Him for the Spanish that we have learned so far. Thanks to all of you for those prayers that you have sent our way. If it were not for those prayers we would not be near as far in the process as what we currently are. Thank you for that.

                We have 5 weeks of classes left before the Spring break then after a week off for Holy Week, we have 2-1/2 weeks of class left before we move to the DR. Continue to pray for us as that we would all finish strong in our and that  that we can stay focused in our studies rather than anticipating the next step for our family. Also pray that the girls would be able to finish their academic school year even though we will be moving before their school year is actually over. Blessing to all. The U's

Nada me faltará

  It has been more than two weeks since my last post and when I started posting: it was my goal to have a new one every two weeks. Anyway, I will still try to stick to that goal. Part of the reason it has been that long is that it has been pretty tranquilo round here. Our life is mostly school, homework and walking to burn off energy. That about sums it up for the U’s.  One new addition to our schedule is that the first week in February, Janae and I started to “help” with ESL (English as a Second Language) class here in town. I can already hear Bob, Matt and John saying out loud, “You are kidding right, YOU helping someone ELSE learn ENGLISH?????”. Well the good thing is, that I am just helping the teacher and we have the 1^st level, so they will have lots of time to get it “right” J. I really do enjoy it though. It gives me one more chance to practice my Spanish and they are as eager to learn English as I am to learn Spanish.  

                I had mentioned in my last post that I am working my way through the bible (hopefully in a year), and since that time our tutor recommended that I read it in Spanish and then in English. Her thought was that it would help with my pronunciation and word recognition. It has helped in both of those areas. The main difference is that now the 15 minutes per day has turned to over an hour, but it really has helped a lot. I will read a paragraph in Spanish and spend time trying to figure out what it’s saying, and then I read it in English to see the parts that I couldn’t figure out. It went well until I hit Leviticus, WOW, That is even hard in a language that I understand. I am now through that and into Numbers and it is going a little better. I do enjoy reading it in Spanish as it gives me one more avenue to see the words, and I find that I recognize a lot more now on Sunday mornings also.

                As far as the title of this blog. This last Sunday I went to church with the lady’s family that is tutoring us and once again I was so reminded of Gods timing. This was the Sunday that He wanted me there. In the fall semester, one of my teachers had us read the 23^rd Psalms each morning in Spanish. So I obviously became fairly familiar with the words and verse one hit me like a brick “The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want” KJV. The newer versions will say “You, Lord are my Shepard, I will never be in need”. Well I learned it in class in the KJV and this morning in church the pastor used the newer version. The Spanish word for need in the KJV is faltará, and the newer version uses falta. I heard that right away and askd my tutor what that was all about and she was quick to remind me that “I have been teaching you that just this last week”. Falta is the present form and faltará is the future form. Seems kind of a minimal difference, HOWEVER, not to me it isn’t minimal. What I heard is I am not in need now and I will not be in need later. But I heard even  more than that. As bad as I want to learn this language, as much as I want to be able to talk Spanish in the Dominican, I heard very plainly this morning that, I will give you as much as you need now, and I will give you as much as you need then. You just need to keep doing your part in studying, and trying, and let Me do the rest. Then you need to be satisfied with that. No more, no less. This is also related to something that happened about a couple of weeks ago one morning at school.

                During a break I went in to ask one of my teachers a question and before I could ask my question, they told me that the night before they had woke up in the middle of the night and thought of me. (I didn’t realize that I was that bad of a student that I caused nightmares in my teachers :)) and she thought of the passage in Luke 9 where Jesus feeds the five thousand.  

 “What is that verse in the bible, maybe in Luke, where Jesus talks about all the people following him and then he decides to feed them and, how did he go about it? “

He asked a little boy for his lunch?? 

“ Right, and how much food did he have with him?”

I think maybe 5 loaves and 3 fish or something like that??

“Right, and then what does he do?”

He tells the disciples to start to pass it around????

“Right. That is where you came into this,” 

( I am supposed to be here learning Spanish and now I am handing out fish and chips to people that should have planned a little better and packed their own lunch????). 

“Did you ever wonder why Jesus didn’t just snap His fingers and feed the people, He had that power, He could have done that. But instead he used a little boy with so little to give and then he used the faith of the disciples to start handing out the food. Those people had to do their part in order for Jesus to work the miracle that he did and a miracle happened because of the faith in the boy and the disciples” “ It was made so clear to me last night that you want to learn this probably more than any student I have ever had and at the same time, I know you study because I have seen you studying when all the other students are having fun and talking during the breaks. yet it seems like it just comes so hard for you and I feel so bad sometimes. But this last night told me that if you continue to do your part, just like you are, then God will bless you beyond anything you can imagine. Lets say, a miracle. It was so clear to me and I had to tell you that”

                So between those two things, during this trimester, as hard as it is, I will continue to keep on keeping on, remembering what the main thing is (to serve God, not to just to learn Spanish),  keep doing my part in studying, and being patient. God is a great God and if He can feed five thousand people with a little kids lunch, and if He can give the teachers at ILE the patience to keep teaching me then he can do great things with the U’s in Costa Rica also. I KNOW THAT!!.

Welcome 2012

     The new year brings with it many new things for our family also. Turning 50 a couple of weeks ago was a bit of a milestone for me. Karen tells me that I now have to act like an adult so that in its self will be a challenge.  As the weather turned cold in Indiana, we are still enjoying 70’s and 80’s everyday here. The rain has stopped so we no longer need to take an umbrella with us every time we go somewhere. School has started up again and we are all back into the homework stage of our lives. Karen and I made a short trip to California the first week in January for orientation at the Students International headquarters. We were disappointed that because of fog, we missed our flight out of Phoenix but we soon forgot about that as we made connection with some friends from our community in Indiana that had moved to the Phoenix area in the early 70’s. Bob and Janice Ropp treated us to great breakfast at Denny’s and spent 2 hours of catching up with them. It was nice to have them all to ourselves to visit. Thanks Bob and Janice for that time.

      Karen spent some of the Christmas vacation doing "craft things". I always wonders what that meant, to "do craft things". Well here is one example of what that actually means. 

                                      This is the U ladies using their fingers to make a star. :)

As school gets harder and more challenging, I am grateful for the offers from people at Shore to help us with a foreign language. I had an offer last week from a gentle man that said he had pinched his finger earlier that day and had all at once started to speak FrenchJ.  He was surprised because he didn’t even remember taking French lessons anytime. (Of course I am guessing that it was not an appropriate use of the French language that I could use anywhere in public).  Thanks for the offer Kevin, but I think we will stick with the tutors here at the school for right now at least.

    I have taken on the challenge of our Pastor in Indiana, Carl Horner, to read the bible in a year. I have wanted to do that for some time now and never have. I thought that with being  50 now, I should do it while I can still remember what day I am suppose to read what passage. I finished Genesis and am into Exodus right  now. It only takes about 15 minutes a day and what a great way to start out. I think the thing that really prompted me start that was, when we were in California, it was mentioned several times that while we are in the middle of our time of service, it is easy to forget the our main purpose of why we are there. That reason is to glorify God in whatever way we can and we cannot let our good acts of service overshadow or praise of God. In other words, “Keep the main thing, the main thing”. One way for me to do that is to read through the bible during the year. How can I know what He is trying to tell me if I do not listen to his words?

      Karen and I have a tutor everyday from 12:15-1:15 and she helps us review what we went over that day in class. That has been such a huge help as it is a time that we can ask more questions and practice talking. (Ha, who would have ever thought that Mike Unternahrer would need to PRACTICE talking HA!). We are talking more Spanish in our apartment now as the girls are learning more in class also. It is still a real challenge for all of us but it is only through our practicing an mistakes that we can improve. 

      Here is a photo of how they deal with potholes in San Jose. This is not really just a quick fix. It is actually fairly permanent. There are several of these throughout town, that have been here since we came in August. If someone thinks that the hole is getting big enough to be a hazard, they just stick a branch or a post in it and that's how it stays. There is one similar to this in front of the school. So far they have lost several 1^st graders in that one !. 

     We enjoy getting emails from any of you to let us know what is happening in your lives so feel free to let us know that. 

Terminar el año. (The end of the year)

    Our life has changed so much in the last year with two of our children getting married, one of our children getting engaged for a summer 2012 wedding. Five of us emptied out our house and committed to serve three years in Republica Dominica, moved to Costa Rica for Language school and raised financial and prayer support for our time away. There were also many small things that came up, that every family would need to adjust too. We, as a family here, and in the states, are continually amazed at how God surprises us each day with his blessings in some way or another. When our home sending church was asking it members to think of ways that they had been blessed this fall, I also started to make a list of my own and it went on and on. He is a great God, and so often I find myself not taking the time to acknowledge the way he works in our lives.

      I have been trying to read one chapter in Proverbs every day for the last number of years. It works out to reading though the book each month. When I read 22:9 in December “Generous hands are blessed hands because they give bread to the poor”, I had to think of all the people that have committed to support us financially and how those hands are blessed by God for doing so. The “bread” in the passage covers so much more than actually edible food. Thank you for allowing God to use your gifts in this manner.

      We have had a good time relaxing during the school break in December. Our Daughter Rachel visited us for a week along with her boyfriend Elliot Rowe and then on Dec 23 Rachel and her fiancé Elliot, headed back to Indiana. It was so good to have them join us here for that week. We tried to have balance of just sitting and visiting along with showing them some of the beautiful areas that we had discovered so far during our time here. We are so glad to have Elliot joining our family this coming summer. During their time here, we went to the Children’s museum here in San Jose. We went to the amusement park here. We went to a LaPaz Waterfall Park and toured the downtown area of San Jose.

      The week between Christmas and New Years is a big deal here in San Jose area. Many of the stores are closed or open for reduced hours. There is a big Carnival type deal in Zapote, about 2 miles from our apartment that has a bull fighting ring that they only use for this one week out of the year. I, of course, took advantage of being here for that one week and went to the bullfights   with some of the other students. Here is a short video of what it was like.      The week between Christmas and New Years is a big deal here in San Jose area. Many of the stores are closed or open for reduced hours. There is a big Carnival type deal in Zapote, about 2 miles from our apartment that has a bull fighting ring that they only use for this one week out of the year. I, of course, took advantage of being here for that one week and went to the bullfights.         
I have several others posted on YouTube if you want to see more of this activity.

       I have been getting more bike riding in on the break, Karen has been getting some craft items made and mending done on the girls’ clothes, Janae and Nina have been spending time with friends and other students and Marcy has gotten quite good at kite flying.            Nina, Janae, and Marcy will go back to class again on Jan 9 and Karen and I will be going back on the 10th. Karen and I have meetings to attend for Students International (our sending agency) in Visalia CA from Jan 3 to 5 and returning to Costa Rica on Jan 6. One of the generous students here will be staying in our apartment with the girls while we are gone. (Thank you Lisa Marie)

      Many of you sent gifts and cards during our time here, and especially during the Christmas season. Thank you all for that and we are humbled by the gracious outpouring of many kinds of support that we have seen in the last number of months.  

Christmas Break.

       Therefore, we have made it half way through our time here at the language institute now and that is a good/bad feeling all at the same time. As we are ready to be done and move on to the Republica Dominicana, we also are wanting so bad to be further ahead in our language learning. Looking back to where we started 4 months ago, we have come a long way. At the same time, we have a long way to go. God has been so good to us in so many ways and is continually surprising us in how he shows up in our activities.

       So what has happened since our last post? Like I said, school was over on Dec 8^th and then on the 10^th Janae and I had the opportunity to go to Nicaragua for 5 days to spend some time with Ray Hedstrom and Jane Kauffman representing the LaGrange United Methodist Church at the NRN base in Managua. Janae and I had both been on previous trips with Ray and Jane before on a number of occasions so it was good to spend a few days with them and reconnecting with the friends that we have made in Nueva Vida.   

The church in LaGrange has done great things there and it was good to be back. Some other things that we have planned for the break are, our daughter Rachel and her boyfriend Elliot are coming down to visit us from Dec 18-23. That will be the highlight of our time off. Karen and I will also be going to California for some meetings with Students International from Jan 3-6. Then on Jan 9^th class resumes for our last half of Language learning.

    Karen and I celebrated our 28^th wedding anniversary the day after Thanksgiving, we are truly thankful for those years together, and where God has taken us during that time. I guess you could say that we celebrated an evening at home with nothing planned, having Rice and Chicken for supper. Oh, wait a minute, that actually describes EACH night since we have been here. HA! gotta love it.

     As I had mentioned in a previous post, there is a mountain here called La Crux and at the top is a cross. Someone talked me into climbing it a second time a couple of weeks ago and at the top was the Christmas tree pictured below. It was a large branch off a pine tree that someone had taken and stuck it in the fire pit on top and decorated it with the trash that was left behind. HA! What better use of the trash than to decorate the Christmas tree. I guess that is just one of the ways that God had surprised me in the last number of weeks.

 It may sound like I have said this before (which I have several times) but the longer we are here, the more we are sure that we are right where we are suppose to be at this time.  Our prayer is that each of you are also where you are suppose to be, and continue to seeks Gods will for your life, as we do. Trusting that you will all have a great time celebrating Christ's Birth. Thanks for your prayers and continued support that you have shown to us.