"You're not going to leave this house without a blessing." (Marta, shack dweller and mother of 4)
More on Marta later.

November was full, full of good stuff, ministry stuff, Jesus stuff. At the first of the month some pastors came from ABC of Puerto Rico to offer a seminar called "Llamados a La Excelencia" (Called to Excellence) It had to do with growing churches, both in numbers and maturity. Visitation, Evangelism, Small Groups, and Social Ministries to the community all were addressed. Rev. Julio Gonzalez, his daughter, Rev. Annie, and his Son, Rev Julio II, led over 50 pastors and leaders in dreaming, strategizing, and praying for the revitalization of the Costa Rican Baptist Churches. Talking teamwork, training and total commitment, they challenged the churches to reach out, to tithe, and to meet needs in the name of Jesus. ABC of Puerto Rico is one of the strongest regions in the American Baptist family, and it shares a common language and some cultural values with Costa Rica. This has made for a good partnership between Costa Rican and Puerto Rican Baptists (some people actually think it's the same place). Those who attended the conference came away excited, inspired and renewed.

During that same conference one of our pastors, Sister Miriam, told me about a needy family from her church. Marta's husband had abandoned her and their four children and the family was living in what we would call a shack (dirt floors, tin roof, and scraps of wood holding it all together). Pastor Miriam told me that when it rained heavily, which it always does in November, the house would flood, turning the home into a river. Needless to say, it's hard to sleep, eat, or do much of anything when you're living in a muddy mess. Total immersion is good for baptisms, but not for daily living. After some quick thinking and praying, we got a team of folks from 5 churches to go and dig some better drainage ditches so the water would go around the house. With a few hours of shovel work we had improved the situation dramatically. She fed us a tasty arroz con pollo (rice with chicken dish), and there were smiles all around.

The first time I had met Marta to see her house and meet her family, we were just about to leave when she said, "You're not going to leave this house without a blessing." What she meant was that she wanted us to pray for her and her children and their home. We prayed then, and again when we came back with the team. Her words turned out to be more prophetic than she may have intended, because in fact we did not leave without a blessing. We had come to give, but we left blessed, having enjoyed the work, the lunch, the friendship and the presence of the Spirit. With this activity we were putting into practice many of the principles from the "Called to Excellence" event. It was fun, or better said, a blessing, to see the concepts come together in a concrete way. Speaking of concrete, this next week we will return (Lord willing) to pour her a proper floor, one that can be cleaned and should mean healthier, happier children with fewer respiratory problems. The labor is coming from some of those same Costa Rican Baptists, and the supplies will be purchased by Bracelets of Hope, a ministry of our children (see other journal entries) But it is also your giving that makes this possible, and the blessing that is given and received is yours to share as well.

A little later that same month (I told you November was full!) two leaders came from FBC Fairbury, IL to get to know our ministry and us. I should add that the Costa Rican federation also has a partnership with Great Rivers Region (ABC Illinois and Missouri.) Our plan was to pour the concrete floor while they were here, but the weather wouldn't allow it. We did however visit Marta and her family. Pastor Steve and Dr. Dave don't speak much Spanish, but they know how to smile, how to respect people, and how to pray, and they too received a blessing. Jordan, Marta's 10-year-old son, suffers from harelip and has a surgery coming up. There will now be several people at FBC Fairbury praying for him on Dec. 16-17. Steve and Dave experienced many things while here and learned of our pastoral training work, participated in Mylinda's worship class, experienced the ministry of the convention, and saw some of Costa Rica's beautiful wildlife. But I have a hunch that Jordan and his family made the biggest impact. Mylinda and I teach theology here. But the best kind of theology has hands and feet and uses a shovel; it's a theology that knows how to cry and pray, and to smile.

It was a great month, a full month, with plenty of Jesus moments. Sure, it had its frustrations too. Preaching students don't always turn in their homework. There's the traffic and the potholes and the frustration of working for over a year to actually get the title to our vehicle (your vehicle too by the way) in our name. There are lots of denominational and church meetings and not all of them are interesting (sound familiar?) But the moments that keep us going are the Marta moments, the kingdom moments. The bonds we share with Illinois and Puerto Rico and with all of you who support us help make those moments happen.

Thank you,

Gary and Mylinda Baits