Tuesday, December 2nd, 2003

Tuesday morning, Maritza made us a wonderful breakfast of eggs, sausage, and toast. We also were treated to Costa Rican coffee. After breakfast Moises took us over to see the newly constructed "Terra Mall." We were told that this was the largest mall in Central America. It was built in Tres Rios seemingly for two reasons. First because it is near the main highway headed out of San Jose and toward Cartago. Second, it gives a big boost to the local economy. Tres Rios is a depressed area of Costa Rica and the added boost in jobs and revenue will be a big boon to the area. We walked over to the mall after breakfast to exchange our Dollars into Colonies. The exchange rate had changed from about 360 Colonies to the dollar last year to about 415 Colonies to the dollar this year. This indicated that there had been some inflation in the economy. After changing the money, we went to purchase coffee for ourselves and some of the members at Berryville. Costa Rican coffee is, in our opinion, the best coffee in the world. We were able to "tour" the new mall and see how the job situation is doing. We learned that one of the members of the church in Tres Rios was working for one of the stores in the mall. In order to bring home about $300.00 a month, she works 12 hours a day and 7 days a week. This roughly translates to about 80 cents for an hourly wage. So while the economy was showing some improvement in that area, the conditions are still difficult for many.

After our visit to the mall, we hopped into the van and went to a fruit market. We purchased several different kinds of fruits for us to eat while staying with Moises and his family. The fruits in Costa Rica are generally fresh and ripe because they grow and harvest all year long due to the tropical environment. We got several very large avocados, some tiny bananas, papaya, and assorted other fruits. All of the fruits were fresh and had a very good taste. We have some pictures of the fruit market here as well as a few pictures taken on the way back to the house.

When we got back to the house, lunch was prepared and we ate. We then went to visit one of the member's families at Tres Rios. This is the family of Mariella. She has one daughter, two sons, and a neice for whom she cares regularly. They all survive in the house in which they live on an income of about $400.00 a month. The members of this family work hard for their income. She served us coffee and cookies while we were there. We very much enjoyed her hospitality and were encouraged by her efforts to be faithful to Christ.

After our visit to Mariella's house, we went over to visit Porfirio and Carla. Porfirio works full time with World Bible School in Costa Rica following up on contacts and grading Bible correspondence courses. Porfirio and Moises also go to the local prison and preach and hold classes there as well. Altogether, Porfirio has over 500 current active contacts for Bible study in the country. He has several thousand more inactive contacts with whom they have studied in the past. Porfirio and Carla were, this past year, blessed with a new addition to their family, Abigail. This couple desired a child for eleven years, and this was their first. They feel very privileged and blessed that the Lord has given them a child. We delivered some gifts for the baby while there and we also had coffee and a few finger sandwiches.

After visiting with Porfirio and Carla, we journeyed over to the house of Mario and Rosario. Last year when we took our trip, neither Mario nor Rosario were Christians. I am very pleased to report that both Mario and Rosario are now Christians. Rosario was baptized a few months after our previous mission trip. Mario was baptized a few weeks after this most recent mission trip. We are very thankful that the Lord has given the increase in this family! This family has a great influence upon many people in this area. We spent the evening in their home conducting a Bible study. Kevin conducted the Bible study on the subject of the righteousness of God versus the righteousness of man. Walter translated this lesson. Larry made a few follow up comments about the Ethiopian Eunuch as applicable to the lesson. After our Bible study, the family treated us to a wonderful Costa Rican holiday custom--Tamales! But the Tamales that we ate this evening were nothing like the Tamales that I have had in Texas and the United States. These Tamales were wrapped in Plantain leaves and had not only meat, but vegetables in them as well. They were the best thing that I have eaten just about anywhere. We had a great time of fellowship and encouragement with those who were at this house.

After the meal, we took everyone back to Moises house. We also took several back to their houses who lived in other areas of San Jose. This included our translator, Walter, and a couple of other families who lived quite a distance away form where we were at, but had ridden several hours on a bus to come and be with us this evening. Larry, Susan, Mary Lynn and John stayed at the house while I took these other families back home. While I was gone, Larry became "Colacho" or, in English, Santa Claus. Here is a picture of Moises Junior sitting on Larry's lap while Larry pretends to be Santa Claus--what a hoot!

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