Recently, Part 2: remembering Mimi, weekly rhythms, local relationships

We learned a little over a month ago now that Devin’s grandma (Mimi), had passed away. She was a firecracker (she played tennis into her 80s), and smart as a whip and sharp as a tack, qualities that haven’t fallen far from the tree in subsequent generations of women!

We’ll miss you Mimi! Until we meet again. We will be coming to Seattle briefly for her memorial service which is Thanksgiving week.

With our schedules less busy with work and friends than in Seattle (though work projects and friendships both have picked up a bit recently), we have been incorporating some new practices in our life at home, namely no screen Mondays (we’ve been playing cards most of these evenings), all Spanish Thursdays (mostly), and family Bible studies (we take turns leading). We’ve also been watching the Chosen as a family on the weekend. We’ve enjoyed these new rhythms!

We have some new transitions the next few weeks as we go briefly to Washington, move in to our new house, and then kids’ school year ends in early December (the Costa Rican school year is from February to December). The kids then have two months off school – then start a new school year in February! We will have a number of visitors (both friends and family) and do some traveling in during their time off school.

(As an aside, when we tell people in Costa Rica we are from Washington, most people think of Washington DC, but most people have heard of Seattle, or at least Canada and California!)

We have enjoyed getting to know some people better, including some people interested in God. We hope and pray that we can be little conduits of connection to our God that gives us life, joy and purpose! It is interesting to us that as we experience some loneliness at times being in a new place, that there are people who have lived here a long time who are longing for deeper connection and greater purpose in their lives. (Probably true everywhere.)

We miss our community in Seattle and remain grateful for the chance to be here!

We got away for a one night camp out by the beach – it was an adventure but one night was enough for this time, without our sleeping pads, and with the muggy nighttime temperature, we were all excited to get back to our beds and go to church the next day!