Rice and Beans of Life: Diving In

YEAH, no school for a month!

I like water. My fondest memories are of floating lazily down the river in a tube, spending the afternoon in my parents pool on a raft by Peg's side as the sun's rays baked our youthful skin, sitting at ocean's edge as it's waves come and go moving my body in motion with them, Snorkeling on our honeymoon, euphorically resting in the hot springs as the minerals fed my deprived body, perched on my Daddy's back jumping waves that would have swallowed me up without his strength ... Being refreshed by it's coolness, calmed and soothed by it's bath like temperature and suppressing elated screams due to it's icy cold dousing. In contrary to what you may think, I don't like diving in! I don't like water where I can't see the bottom, when I can't see where my feet are treading, nor do I like deep ocean and being in boats where I can't see what lurks in the deep depths beneath me. Child of the 70's that I am, JAWS has put the fear of God in me when in said habitat.

Diving in ... Wednesday, I dove head first into the media. Up to this point, I had received all my information on Corona Virus by perusing the trustworthy, reliable, news source facebook, from our very informed neighbors and through the boys MH school chat. It's not that I don't want to be informed, by all means, I want to know what's happening with this pandemic hysteria and be prepared. As we turned the news on (dove in), the first statement was "First death reported in CR due to Corona Virus". All of a sudden, I had a sense that fear was taking root, (JAWS was lurking below the dark surface). Our eyes and ears glued to the news, (I thought I saw a fin). The fear was growing. "Mom, I'm starting to get a little worried about this CV." (Jaws open ready to swallow us whole) And with that statement, it was time to get out of the water. As I breathlessly swam to shore, dragging my mighty men in tow, and ran for the sweet comfort of my hiding place, this is what Father bathed me with ... Be strong and very courageous, be careful to obey all the laws (quarantine, hand washing, no useless going out), for I the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go ... Before you call, I will answer, while you are still speaking I will hear ... even as you swim through the murky waters of media.

This isn't a word to be uninformed, to avoid the media due to the fear it invokes. No, it's a call to my soul to look to Jesus and not be overwhelmed by the murky waters of media. To be so intimately connected with Father by bathing in His life-giving word that I know where to swim when media's Jaws tempt fear to arise. To have the assurance that I can dive below the surface knowledge I am floating on, and simply trust The Creator of the deep ... even with the knowledge that JAWS could be lurking.

Social distancing from fear ... Soul set on solid ground ... He is my life raft

Life on the Mountain
We are safe, healthy and quarantined as best we can on the mountain in Costa Rica. Monday the president issued a State of Emergency, schools, universities and unnecessary businesses were to shut down. The week consisted of ... stocking up on food and necessities before the SOE was issued ... A work day at the base ... An overwhelming start to home school with Jedi and Adam ... A 2 hour visit with friends to regroup and refocus ... Getting fingerprinted ... Girlfriend video chat ... Watching home videos of Micah as a toddler ... A stay at home date night because Declan invited his 'home boys' over to hang out : ) ... Sunday morning Brunch and fellowship with our Casa VidaNet family and ... Refocusing our focus on The Creator of the deep and trusting His provision in the deep waters.

Praise
We are learning how to carry one another's burdens
Feeling cared for by friends who desire to share life behind the big black gate
Time to intimately connect with neighbors
We feel covered by His wings in this time of uncertainty
Dad and Micah understand and know how to teach Math!
A date night to share out hearts and laugh together
Our residency paperwork is extended until May 17th, we don't need to leave the country!

Prayer
Pray for our 6 Vida220 teams on outreach throughout Central America, pray for their encouragement during this time of quarantine
Pray for unity in our leadership team as we're in 3 different countries
Pray for wisdom and patience as I guide Jedi and Adam through their school work
EMM retreat is canceled due to travel issues ... this is a huge disappointment for all of us.
Would you join us in social distancing from fear of the deep unknown?