Lots of rain and mudslides

   We have had a bit of an interesting week. Costa Rica has been hit pretty hard with rain from hurricane Tomas. Supposedly, we got about 6 inches of rain in two hours on Wednesday night. We were told that on Wednesday night it rained as much as it normally does in 4 days. Tragically, 30 people died in their homes on Wednesday due to landslides from the rain. They all lived in a town about 20 minutes away from us. Fortunately, we live closer to the city and not directly at the base of a mountain, so we have been safe. Our power and water have been pretty spotty over the last few days. We did not have water on Thursday and no power on Friday. Right now, the rain has stopped and hopefully the community here will begin to mend. Over 1,000 people have lost their homes. We shopped for the Red Cross this morning and will be taking food to the shelter this afternoon.
    This week I have struggled with these power outages, not having a car, and not having water when I would like to have it. I have been convicted of my very bad attitude about this, because there are lots of people that live life this way every single day-- with no car, no electricity and no running water. And many people lost their lives this week. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams! This is really a good lesson for me to learn, because I have a feeling that this will not be the last time in our life that I struggle with these things.  The Lord is continually showing me my selfishness and how much I long to be in control through this whole process. I am grateful for the ways that He is continually teaching me.
     Thank you for your emails and concern for us this week, as many of you have heard about our weather! Please pray for the people of this country, and that the Lord will use this to draw many unto Himself. 

Workers look for survivors after the mudslides

Mountains near our home where some of the mudslides have been causing so much damage