Roman Brady: March 2009

It always seems that we are constantly looking forward to the future and the things that are yet to come. Whenever we sit for a moment we have the time to take it all in and reflect on the things that have come and gone. As I sit here in the perfect Caribbean weather, warm but not too hot. When the breeze blows through you can almost taste the salt in the air. As I feel the wind on my skin it is almost like I’m in bed with the fan going on one of those mornings where it is just so easy to sleep in. I think about the time when I came to the decision to come to Costa Rica and how uncertain I was. I took a leap of faith and being in this place has been so rewarding, not just because I live in the heart of the Caribbean, but because of all the beautiful and loving people I have met along the way. It is hard to believe that in two months I will be back in Winston-Salem. But once back I will be willing to share my story with anyone and everyone.

The amount of time here has shown me the things that are really important, and pointed out the things that I take for granted. Have you ever thanked God for smooth roads? On the roads here in Limon you can’t drive 20 feet without having to swerve to miss a ditch or pothole. Have you ever thanked God for your mobility? Here in Limon it is hard to get around. A personal car is a commodity only for the rich. Most people here take taxis and the bus daily. Have you ever thanked God for Honest law enforcement? Here in Costa Rica there are SO many corrupt public officials that to get a fare shake may be hard. Someone that calls for medical assistance may receive it an hour or two after the call. Its not like that states where in a matter of minutes someone is there to help. People lose their lives because of simple complications that in the states are not problems because of the response time. I often think about the “American dream” and I can see why people would risk their lives for even a small chance at making it in America. Because just being in the USA means they are immediately better off than where they were, even if they choose to live 15 to a house. With the current economy some people should do the same thing. Maybe buy a house with two other families and share the cost of living. Just the small things/choices that we all take for granted are missed opportunities for people around the world.

Over the past couple of weeks Morgan and I have done a few different things I want to talk about. We helped celebrate the life of a friend’s father in law by playing a few songs at a funeral service and grave side service. We also got the chance to attend the Moravian church of Costa Rica’s yearly assemble. I also took the chance to get a few friends together for Morgan’s birthday at the local Pizza Hut in town, after all she did arrange a surprise birthday party for me in December.

Funeral is a entirely different experience than it is in the states. When you go to a funeral you should not have anything scheduled for the rest of the day or even weekend. We arrived at the church right after lunch on Saturday, and already the church was packed with people of the community to pay their respects. Morgan and I got the opportunity to offer our songs to the family and friends. To God be the Glory was one, Abide with me, and helped accompany on a number of other selections. There were easily over 300 people there which is one of the biggest crowds I have ever performed in front of. Then at the grave side service we played a few more hymns, me on the guitar and Morgan playing versions of melody and harmony on her violin. After which we were told to come to the house for something to eat and to mingle with the family, which we happily obliged. This is the same family that we got to spend Christmas day with, a very loving family that accepted us and received us with much thanks. I thank God for having met all of them and being able to share in the celebration of life for him.

After teaching the Harvest Tabernacle group on Saturday morning we went to town to be part of the yearly assemble of the Moravian church in Costa Rica which was taking place at the Methodist church because it has a big fellowship hall and a fully functional kitchen. Maybe after we get the school built next to faith we can have it there next year. There were quite a few familiar faces here at this assemble because Back in October we were guest judges for the Friendly Bible Competition in the Capital San Jose. It was 7 hours of nonstop Spanish which was helpful but aggravating at times because I am still learning and could not catch everything they were saying. I also met this guy Will Cothbert who has been to Laurel Ridge back in the day and knows Chris Puryer, also he is going to try to come to Laurel Ridge this summer for like Junior High 2 and Senior High. It was awesome to see everyone come together and work towards progress.

After the Assemble we walked towards the park..and I happened to mention that “I am soooo Hungry” so we saw that Pizza hut was still open so we walked up and wouldn’t you know there were people there that we knew. It was a great little surprise for Morgan on her 7^th anniversary of turning 21. Well I will let all the pictures speak for themselves.

Hope everyone is doing well…..feel free to Email me anything…just to say hey. Love you all even the ones who read and have no clue who I am. Adios.