I woke up this morning to the sound of my alarm at 6:40am. Maribel told us that breakfast would be at 7:00am, so she must have waken up pretty early to prepare breakfast and lunch for me and Karina. Our breakfast consisted of gallo pinto (my favorite), eggs, toast, and of course coffee. Gary picked us up around 8:15am to show us how to walk from our host families’ house to base camp (around a 15 minute walk). At base camp, we prepared the crafts that we will be doing with the children in Tirrases for the upcoming week.

At around 10:00am, we headed for Tirrases to partake in the women’s sewing ministry. Usually, there are around 20 regulars that attend. However, only about half of the women showed up today because it was the first day of school for their children. Nonetheless, we were able to spend time and interact with the women who went. The leader of the ministry, Damaris, told us that the purpose of the ministry was to teach women in the area how to sew, with the hopes that they will teach others what they have learned. She also hoped that the women could use their skills to start a home business to raise money for Tirrases. "This is discipleship to me, and I pray to God for creative guidance on how to use different scraps so that nothing will go to waste," Damaris states (translated to English).

I was able to share my salvation testimony with the women who attended, and Karina taught a lesson on Ruth that me, Amy, and Danielle helped prepare the night before. It was a really good experience to see how much the women appreciated our stories and knowledge. After the lesson, Gloria told us that she had not heard the story of Ruth before and wanted to continue to come to church, with the hopes of learning more about the bible. My favorite moment in the ministry was being able to pray for Patricia, who was sick and going to the hospital later that afternoon. After we prayed, she told us with teary eyes that she really felt comforted by God through our prayers.

"It was interesting how we were speaking in English, but the prayer somehow touched her" ~Karina

The sewing ministry ended around 4:00pm. Then Gary led us through a prayer walk and showed us some of the shacks people lived in in Tirrases. It was sad to see the conditions that these people lived in - run-down and clustered shacks on a hill.

**Run down shacks on a hill in Tirrases**

After we left Tirrases, we went back to base camp, where Gary taught us about the culture in Costa Rica. He told us to make sure to conserve water and energy, not slam doors, and to not leave a room without excusing yourself (the latter two are considered rude in Costa Rican culture). In Costa Rica, the plumbing was not made for anything but organic waste. Thus, we need to throw our toilet paper in the wastebasket and not flush it down. Once we arrived back at our Tico families, we ate dinner, then spent time with our families. Karina, Danielle, Amy, and I played with my family's twin girls--Daniella and Valeria. We played hand clapping games (flashbacks to our childhood) and jumprope. We also attempted Go-Fish and Karina did teach the girls in Spanish how to play War.

We met Kayla, a missionary from the UK, when we were at the sewing ministry. She said something that touched my heart:

"God works with whatever you give, whether it was prepared or on the spot. As long as you are willing, then God can and will work through you. Just spending time and being with the people, even if you cannot communicate with them, is missions also."

Prayer Request :)

Pray for the people in Tirrases and their living conditions - may God continue to protect them
Patricia's health (she has low blood pressure)
That Gloria will continue to seek to learn more about the Lord

Spanish Phrase of the Day: Cómo se dice (which means how do you say... I used this phrase to ask my host mother how to say bread [pan] )

In his Love,

Lisa Mai (with help from the lovely Karina)

Day 3 - Crochet for Dayzzz