Today the local building crew begins fabricating rebar for strengthening the foundations, which in Costa Rica are larger and more reinforced to make buildings earthquake-resistant. Weather permitting, we ought to have the concrete poured by the first of August.

Here are some pictures which show our work and the outline of the school taking shape.

This week I’m working with a group from St. John’s, Charlotte, as we ready the school site for foundation digging. Yesterday we unloaded the first truckful of materials, to be used in building a storage shed and guardhouse for the worksite. Before the truck arrived, Bishop Monterroso led us in blessing the site and breaking ground.

Today the excavator continued grading the land, and has about a day’s work remaining. Then the builder will stake out the school site and we will begin digging the foundation. Next week Christ Church, Charlotte, arrives to help  complete the foundation work. This part of the job will involve a lot of digging, rebar fabrication and concrete work. So far the weather has cooperated, and we hope that will continue.

We have two other mission groups working on the site in August, before St. Alban’s arrival: St. Peter’s, Ripon, Wisconsin, and St. Paul’s, Riverside, Connecticut. St. Paul’s assistant rector is the Rev. Jim Irwin, who spent some months at St. Alban’s as an intern several years ago. He remembered fondly his trip to Costa Rica with our youth group, and decided to bring the youth at his new church to Heredia. This is how the ripples from mission trips spread from one congregation to another.

More news will come as the work progresses. I’m sending out some photos from this week in a separate post. Remember, the Holy Spirit wants YOU for duty in Costa Rica! It’ll change your life! Volunteer now for the August 27th group trip!

He peels, he scores!!

I thought I’d send you all a couple of pictures I wasn’t able to get into my last post of St. Alban’s pix. These are of Bisbo, who is as to my knowledge the world’s only surviving lime-eating dog. He is our Diocesan House dog, a golden retriever about two years old. I call Bisbo the only surviving lime-eater because Loleen, the old dog who taught him how to do it, died last year. Bisbo’s record by my personal observation is five limes eaten at one sitting. This dog may have some life problems, but scurvy will never be one of them.

Bisbo makes his approach

Our St. Alban’s group attended Eucharist at Cristo Resucitado last Sunday. Deacon Rebecca assisted Padre Jorge with the celebration. We presented your St. Alban’s banner to the congregation, who immediately hung it on the wall. Rebecca also helped the local congregation in preparing the banner which they will send to you at the end of this month, when Padre Jorge Urrutia and priest candidate Melvin Chavez arrive in Davidson for a month’s English-language immersion training.

On Monday the group met with Bishop Monterroso and the architect and engineer to review the construction plans and the summer’s work schedule. We have a highly-qualified team of professional builders who will be leading mission volunteers in their work and ensuring all is done well.

St. Alban’s mission trip to Heredia is scheduled for August 27th through September 1st. The group will pick up construction work begun by previous missions. If enough of you feel led to participate in this ministry, St. Alban’s should be able to send other groups to help finish our project. Rebecca Yarbrough and Peter Macon will be coordinating the preparations for Costa Rica mission groups as work progresses, so contact them to volunteer.

Peter has a list of needed furnishings for the new school, including their costs, which he will be pleased to share with you. Help the kids and moms in Heredia by purchasing a desk, a crib, a computer, a washing machine, or any other of the many things it takes to provide a loving, caring experience for children aged six months to twelve years. We’re counting on you to help us make Hogar Escuela Heredia

Friends of Greer at Christ Church began a fund-raising campaign to help finish the computer lab. The dioceses of Costa Rica and North Carolina applied for a grant from the St. Luke’s Foundation in Salisbury. With these combined resources we finished the lab space, added air conditioning, and installed twenty computers and furniture.

Bishop Monterroso joined Greer’s mom, grandmother and other relatives and close friends in blessing and dedicating the new lab on Friday. It was one of those Spirit-filled moments that energize us in our ministries. The Hogar Escuela kids sang for us, and then settled in for their first lesson on the new computers.

Our task now is to begin offering computer training to the mothers of the Hogar children. Most of them are working in very low-paying jobs which make it hard to support their families. Unemployment and loss of their rented homes often puts these families at risk. Learning computer skills will help these moms in their search for better jobs at decent wages and open the world of computers to their children.

A computer lab similar to the one at Barrio Cuba will be part of the new Hogar Escuela serving Guarari and Heredia. While it won’t be as large at first, the lab will offer children and their parents the same quality of education as our new facility in Barrio Cuba. Work on the Heredia school site will begin in a couple of weeks. The St. Alban’s family will share in this ministry of work as the school is built, furnished and opened for new students and their parents. 

The scheduled dates for the St. Alban’s mission trip to Costa Rica are August 27 through September 1. Please contact Peter Macon or Rebecca Yarbrough for more details as they become available.

Our task at Diocesan House is to arrange lodging, meals and bus transportation for the groups, plus set up any tours a group wants to take on their rest day. We are also writing the group schedules, so that everyone can make the best use of their time in Costa Rica. Once the groups begin arriving, we will work with them at their mission sites, supporting them in their projects and handling any problems which arise.

I say “we” because Marta Davis, my successor as companion diocese officer for the next year, arrived here on May 8th and is settling into her new role. Marta is a member of Christ Church, Charlotte, and worked here with their mission group in February. She liked her experience so much that she volunteered to replace me! Marta brings her energy and her personal gifts to Diocesan House, where she is quickly becoming part of the family. I’m really excited to have her with us. She will share with Bishop Monterroso and the rest of the Church in the Holy Spirit’s work in Costa Rica, and in a couple of months I can come home to my Lovely Bride and all of you.

Deacon Rebecca, Peter Macon and Martin McCoy are coming to San Jose on the 29th of this month to spend a few days with us. Rebecca will learn about the companion relationship between St. Alban’s and Cristo Resucitado, while Peter and Martin check up on the Hogar Escuela Heredia construction project. This trip is in preparation for St. Alban’s mission group to Costa Rica on August 27th to September 1st. That group will help build the new school and also spend some time getting to know our sister congregation of Cristo Resucitado. If you’d like to be a part of this August mission team, please contact Peter or Rebecca and let them know. We’ll continue to bring you more news as it develops.

As one might expect, hot and humid weather prevailed, with thunderstorms every day. Clayton is located next to the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal, so I got to do a lot of ship watching during daily breaks. On Friday, Bishop Murray of Panama carried us out in the country to an Episcopal school and parish for a “matanza.” If you know any Spanish this does not sound particularly comforting, since the normal meaning of matanza in English is “a slaughter or massacre, a killing.” In Panama, however, it refers to our equivalent of a pig roast; in this case it was a cow roast. The remains of the poor beast proved delightfully tasty. We also enjoyed folk music and dancing throughout the afternoon. It was a real treat to be with regular folks just having a good time.

Yesterday’s Gospel reading from Matthew is about Jesus’ baptism. As Jesus comes out of the water, the voice of God is heard to say, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” (3:17)

According to Genesis, we human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (1:26).  Jesus says in John’s Gospel, “Abide in me as I abide in you…. I am the vine, you are the branches.” (15:4-5) 

If we accept these three passages as the truth, which I do, then….

God, since I’m made in your image, and Jesus abides in me and you abide in both of us, does that mean I’m your beloved child, too? Sometimes I don’t feel like your or anybody else’s beloved child. Many days I can’t imagine a lot of the people I meet being your beloved children, either. At other times I experience your love through other persons, the kind of love that says, “I love you as you are, in spite of your imperfections you worry so much about. I am with you through it all.”

Lord, you are the creator of everybody alive and all the people who have gone before us. Does that mean you love all of us, including the homeless, the crack dealers, the child molesters, the cheats, the Hitlers and Stalins and Osama bin Ladins of the world? How can that be? If it’s so, am I supposed to love all these people, especially the ones I don’t like?  How am I supposed to love myself after all I’ve done and left undone?

Abba, are you serious?

Just something to think about. Have a good week.

The bishops receive their panama hats at the synod