Ines

Almost everyday, (especially now that its not raining) Matt and I take little Haley to the park. She loves the park. At the park she runs, climbs, slides, swings, and see-saws. Also, because of Haley's cute little personality we have the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with a lot of Ticos (Costa Rican people). Most days my conversations with the Ticos are short and focused on our children. Most days we talk about ages and names of our children and they ask me where I am from. Some Ticos are familiar with the Institute others are not. Regardless, I generally don't have an opportunity to spend a long time chatting with folks because we are both busy chasing our children around the park.

Today, however, Lili was running off ahead of me and I said "Ok, bye bye." With that she thought I was leaving her and she burst into tears and clinged to me. This gave me the opportunity to sit with Lili and talk to a lady for a while. Eventually, I learned that her name is Ines, and she was there with her four year old granddaughter. I was able to talk for about 25 minutes with her. We talked about the churches we attend and what we are reading in the Bible. We talked about all the places I have lived in my life to which she was very surprised because she has never lived out of San Jose. It was very enjoyable speaking with Ines, and I was surprised at my ease and comfort during the conversation.

God, I praise you that you have given me the opportunity to learn another language so that I can share your word with people of Latin America. Thank you that I have learned enough to talk with people on various subjects for an extended period of time. Lord you are the Lord of all, and I stand in awe of you.