Indeed!!!!!....what a great New Year we have here with us and there with you (as if it’s a person). I just hope that your New Year was full of meaning and renewed vigor for God and life. There are many things I would like to touch on this week including the New Year experience I had while I was here. It was true that they celebrate way more than the states. We look like a sparkler compared to the things they blow up. Also I want to give you the “Scoope” about Carlos and how he is fairing. I am extending an invitation to a party for everyone…Morgan Finally got her ticket to visit home. There are so many things I have to do in her absence which I will tell you all about. Also I wanted to let you know that getting internet in our house is not proving to be as tangible as we thought. We are not even sure if we could get it before our return to the states. So this means you can pretty much expect to hear from us just on Tuesdays.
So the New Year was as loud as they said it was going to be. We were both very cautious about leaving our house at 10:00pm with the prospect of returning after midnight. Especially since all the Taxi drivers would be inebriated by this point in the night. Although the guy that drove us down (one of Morgan’s acquaintances, who speaks English) assured us that he would return promptly at 12:15am and carry us back to our house. So we sat through a 30 minute song service where we sang a lot of hymns in the 300’s of the red Moravian Hymnal. At the end of the service we started our Watch Night Service. This service used a lot (if not all) of the same hymns as the song service. I just presumed that the song service was just practice for the real thing. In the Watch Night Service our message was delivered by the Rev Herta (Splinter) Downs. She was so consumed with having the service line up so much that she miss informed the congregation. At one point she looked down at her watch while still talking and erroneously said “Without him.......(looking at watch)…….You can do Anything.” The thing was that I believe the congregation must have been asleep or just not paying attention because no one reacted. But of course everyone said that she has had the same New Year’s message for the past 4 years. Well as we sang our last hymn, and my wrist beeped 12:00am the noises outside the church started to make it near impossible to hear the organ. Once the service ended we walked outside which sounded like some Great War zone, except with colored explosions. The taxi driver that promised he would pick us up never showed so we ended up walking back to our house in the war zone. Luckily Latoya and Cynthia walked with us back to our house as to prevent a greengo attack. There were so many people in the streets partying and drinking and dancing. It was a sight to behold. Once we reached the hill at the Coligo overlooking Limon…it seemed as if there was a dense fog set upon our small town. After I few moments I noticed a few church steeples permeating the fog. It made me think that when we are in conflict, if we put ourselves outside the situation it will be easier to focus on God and the solution” So I would say I had a great New Year…not mentioning the selected beverage I may or may not have had after Midnight. But overall being in a different culture for Christmas and New Year’s has been an eye opening experience.
Along with the New Year is a renewed Zeal for the mission. Awaiting our last trimester and planning for the future of this school is exciting. I hope that five years from now I will be able to return to Limon to see the progress that all started with Morgan and I. I am looking forward to meeting the Moravians from Germany that are coming here on the 8th. We will be showing them the school and local churches and plans for the future...Very Exciting!!!! Also having had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world as a result of being here has been an incredible. During the period of the election and after the election, hearing their views and realizing how intricate a role the US played in the doings of the rest of the World. America really is a powerhouse that has to weigh every decision in the best interest of mankind and not just Americans. But meeting these people and being here has changed who I used to be to a more aware and useful member of society. Also for the people I reach years after this mission is over.
Moving on to talking about our smelly cat, and no I am not talking about the song from FRIENDS. As you may know (if you read my last post) our cat decided to go for a walk outside our gate last week. He had the pleasure of meeting a stray pack of dogs. This pack of dogs did not take too kindly to Carlos and his young eagerness to learn. However they did show him that going beyond the green gate was a NO-NO. So…after taking Carlos to the Vet which by the way was in the back of a pet store that had a Money Gram office in it…???? Anyways he seemed to be healing and getting better until we noticed that he had some pretty grotesque injuries starting to let out a smell that would make a weak stomach turn. After a few more days of rubbing an antibiotic cream on it and giving him a pill form antibiotic, we could not deal with the smell any longer. So Morgan put Carlos on the porch to air out which made sense to me. I woke up yesterday to find him missing. Morgan said that she found him in the yard Sunday morning and that he may have wandered off again. So late Monday night while I was taking out the trash Carlos came wandering back to the house. I immediately noticed that his abscess was fully open and needed tending. So Morgan took her cat on the porch and sprayed him down with Peroxide that she had put in a spray bottle. We will see how he is doing upon our return from Maribu. I hope that nothing happens to him while Morgan is gone to the states because I have neither means, nor know how to deal with cats.
So Morgan finally got her ticket of leave. Everyone is allowed to rejoice now. But you must be asking yourself “What is Roman going to do while she is away…how will he get by without her superior Spanish?” Don’t worry everyone, I will manage….Maybe now that she won’t be here it will force me to learn a few words….I know she will be proud upon her return. Maybe we will even only speak in Spanish to one another. Who knows? I do know of a few things I will be doing while she is away. I will be giving a few make up lessons from this previous semester. I will also be preparing for the Mini courses that will take place the last week of January. We will be having a Choral workshop here in Limon and a guitar Workshop in San Jose. Steven Gray will be joining us for the Choral workshop as well as helping Mark Ebert set into motion the plans for the actual facility. Joe Mixon will be leading the guitar workshop in San Jose. It is very exciting to think that our most successful trimester has yet to commence yet also somewhat sad to think that it will be our last. I feel comfort in knowing it will always be an option to come back on occasion to see how things progress. Well as for the time I am not planning or teaching I will probably be watching Stargate SG-1 on my laptop. If you have never seen it, it is a great series!!! I brought back all ten seasons with me so that I could once again watch the whole series. Since I have been back I have watched 3 seasons. Also if I get tired of Stargate (which won’t happen) I can look forward to traveling with Ninfa and her family to Panama City.
We will be leaving on the 12th or 15th of January and only going to stay for a few days. But still I am very excited about seeing the canal and doing a little bit of shopping. Ninfa tells me that everything there is much cheaper. A pair Nike would be like $10 where as in Limon it’s like 50,000 colones ($100.) So her and her family has group rates on a bus and accommodations down there and have invited me to go along. I won’t spend too much money because I still have bills to pay back home and as you know I am a missionary…which means I don’t have the means to buy a lot of frivolous things. Mainly taking pictures and maybe a new pair of shoes, but I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Well I hope everyone has a safe and productive week. I also want everyone to be reading their daily text. I left my 2008 one at home but now have a 2009. I take comfort in knowing that I am reading the same scriptures and hymns as friends and family back home. If you don’t have one, you can order one online at http://www.moravian.org/daily_texts/ . Thanks for reading and feel free to write me an e-mail bradymusic@gmail.com. I would love to hear from anyone and everyone.
You’re Missionary,
Roman Brady
