God answers prayers!- Trip to Costa Rica, June, 2008

Christian Camping International, Latin America Summit:
Every 3-4 years we gather the National leaders of CCI Associations from all around Latin America for a time of fellowship and learning. This year, Don German, led us all in an analysis of the 8 core components of team building. Each National Team was guided in specific tasks related to improving their team work.
Luis Castro, Board president of CCI LA/Peru: What a relief to listen to other CCI folk and realize I am not alone. We all share similar struggles with funding, team members who don't play by the rules, and others who won't get in the game at all! I was so caught up in the management of my "micro-world", I forgot that even on the "macro-level of all of Latin America", we share much in common. Praise God I made it to this Summit. I return to Lima, Peru with a fresh vision.


Latin America Mission Annual Retreat:
Each year the missionaries of a given geographic area gather to meet together for fellowship and inspiration. Although Alfredo was not able to be a part of this gathering, the children grew in their understanding of what it means to be an "MK" (missionary kid).
Where are you from?
Victor and Valerie respond to the inquiring child together: We were born in Pittsburgh. But we live in Honduras. My Mom is American and my Dad is Honduran. So, we are from both places.


Travel mercies:
Thank you for praying for our safety. The kids love to travel and they love airports. They end up playing with the K-9 dogs trained to sniff out drugs. In one airport, while Victor followed the dog around on his sniffing tour of the carryon baggage in the lobby, Valerie entertained (unknowingly) the first row of waiting passengers with a ballet performance. I had the most fun watching people watch them!

Connections:
Family:
If I had to sum up this trip in one word I'd say "connected." Through your prayers, we connected and bonded with a number of people, namely, my brother-in-law, Rogelio. The kids visited a rain forest, a butterfly zoo, we all had a pajama party in his one-bedroom apartment, and watched Narnia: Prince Caspian together.
CCI/Latin America Staff:
There's nothing like doing God's will with people you love. Our staff came from Argentina, Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica to meet. Our kids played in the mud together while we met and pondered whether we needed to make drastic changes in how we develop leaders in CCI/Latin America.
Mission family:
Meeting fellow LAM missionaries continues to inspire and challenge me. There's no other mission agency I'd rather be serving with!