work work work PLAY!

It's a been a good solid week......got a lot done but I'm getting bored and we know what that means! Woo Hoo! Swell is pumping off the coast but fading into Monday so I'd better get out there. I'll be unreachable til Monday morning or so.

As a side note: I love my life.....but I think it would be utter poopie without knowing the God who created me and all else. Being amongst creation and realizing who you are in light of who Jesus is really makes for a good day. I hope you can find this too.

Oh, oh and you guys need to check this! The village pastor's son/driver wrecked our pickup truck into a bull a week ago. Yes, I'm referring to the really big male animal with horns. Needless to say, I'm putting some miles on this ole beater bicicleta that I bought back in January. Oh well, I'm seeing this world in a different light all over again. It's amazing how not having a vehicle will change your life so drastically. The moral that I've learned is that we've really bought into this lie that we need all these things when we really don't. I thank God that I've risen above the commercial world that tells me I need all this stuff.......and that car had better be fixed by next week or somebody is going down! HA!

How do you hit a bull with a car anyway?

Waves aren't enough!

Yep, still in Costa Rica and loving it. I finally surfed my first BIG waves this morning which has got my stoke up quite a bit. I was unfortunately sharing water with about 20 other surfers which kind of sucked but I still managed to catch a few amongst the crowd. The sets were ranging between 7-9 feet on the face of the wave. Wowsers!

Ok, switching gears. No one told me that Christ Followers who leave their familiar world to work on projects in other parts of the world are easily dried up......spiritually speaking. Ok, I might have heard it before but I didn't believe it. I expected to come on this trip and ride high the whole time, feeling as if God would be so close that I could taste him. Don't let me put this on God, it's not that I think he has left me or anything. I'm sure it has everything to do with me but it just feels like he's not around. I don't think the people that I live my life with back home understand their impact on my spiritual life. It all seems so natural at home. It's easy for myself and probably most of us to overlook the necessity of community. I don't want to get too mushy but you people at Visio Dei, my family, and there are some others, I address this to you: You are my life. I don't think you all understand how much you mean to me and mean to each other. You find out very quickly when you leave for a bit. Living in a foreign land away from the communal worship in Home Groups and on Sunday mornings is really hard. I've been feeling so spiritually dry of late. I've tried to fill this cup with Podcasts, worship music, surfing, and other adventurous activities. All of these things are great and even spiritual in nature, but having people like you around me is essential. Finding silence around here is hard too. My life has been very sporadic this whole month and I haven't been able to get into a healthy routine of prayer, worship, reading, etc. Josh and I talked about this at dinner last night and he filled me in on the fact many missionaries (for lack of a better word) experience this same problem. I suppose its good to know that I'm not alone in this but that doesn't change the fact that I'm struggling. I know that telling you this isn't as real as actually experiencing it for yourself, but you should look at the people around you tonight and this week and be aware that those conversations, those meals, and this life that you live together has great purpose and makes all the difference in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

To all my friends and family that support me (you know who you are): I miss you and very much look forward to being with you again.

Grace, Peace, and Pura Vida
alan