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February 1974 Newsletter
THE COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
San José del Guaviare in Colombia, South America
Volume 2, Issue 2 February, 1974
WHAT ELSE DO THE MISSIONARIES DO?
Language study dominates the vast majority of our time. As a result much of the newsletter concerns this phase of our first term. But it would be incorrect to give the impression that all we ever do is study Spanish. So, what else do the missionaries do?
One other occupation that approaches full time is writing letters. Since we have been in Costa Rica we have written, typed, and mailed approximately 1000 letters. In six months we have averaged more than 150 letters per month; with the majority coming out after we spent most of our Christmas break. (including all day Christmas and New Year) working on a mailing which covered the entire mailing list.
The writing of this newsletter also occupies the better part of a week. We try to make the articles as informative and interesting as possible. Any pictures used have to be taken, developed, and printed. By the time this is finished and in the mail to the printer it is time to start thinking about the next issue.
The aduana (customs) also requires a fair amount of time each month. For instance, to get one skirt and one shirt that arrived for Christmas required the biggest part of one morning and $5. The officials wanted $10 and it took some doing to get the figure down to a reasonable amount. Waiting in lines for various reasons also requires a great deal of time. For one visit to the doctor we sat in the waiting from 5:00 to 9:00 one evening before we even got in.
On and on could go the list. Each day we not only spend a great deal of time studying Spanish, but dozens of other items occupy our time as well. So the missionaries find plenty to do. There is scarcely a day that we have time to rest and relax. All of this seems to make each passing day we are closer to the time when we shall leave for Colombia. This (of course) pleases us greatly. We are quite anxious for the time when we can more to Colombia and settle into the work. We do many, many things in the course of a month. Yet all of them are aimed toward one purpose: the preaching of the Good News of Christ in Colombia, South America. D.R.M.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF COSTA RICA
So far, during our first five months in Costa Rica, the vast majority of our time has been spent in study of the Spanish language. But occasionally we do get a chance to see a bit of Costa Rica.
Our first trip out of San Jose came when Tom Locklear, a missionary from the Churches of Christ in Alabama and Texas, was delivering some tapes to the radio station in Puntarenas. We were invited to go with them so we accepted to offer. The drive down took us up along the Central Plateau on the same road we followed when we arrived in Costa Rica. After a couple hours we turned off to cross the mountains and head down to the coast. This part of the trip was beautiful. The road snaked its way through the rough and rugged mountains of this tiny country.
Soon we arrived on the hot, humid costal plain. This relatively flat area borders the mountains on both coasts of Costa Rica. The climate is entirely different from the cool, mild Central Plateau. We visited the port city of Puntarenas and dropped off the radio programs. After this we headed home. A short way out of the city, our friends' 12 year old son, along with the heat, convinced us to stop for a swim. The Pacific Ocean was rough that day and provided a refreshing break. About an hour later he climbed out of the ocean, back into the car and headed home. The return trip followed the same picturesque route. All too soon the day was over and we were back home.
The second chance to see the countryside was about 3 months later. A friend wanted to visit Port Limon, on the Caribbean. Jeanie missed visiting Costa Rica's other port city because of the rough roads. During the trimester break, Ted Smith and I loaded up his pickup truck and set out for the coast opposite Puntarenas.
On the way, we passed through Cartago, the old capital of Costa Rica, before a flood and earthquake twice destroyed the city. It wasn't long until the roads went from bad to worse. Soon we began to think we had missed the road and wound up on an oxcart trail. We came to one river about 100 yards wide and 2 feet deep. The pickup truck just barely made it to the other side before it conked out. We spend half hour drying out the engine so we could go on. The road went from worse to worse. We averaged 20 miles an hour on the trip. we arrived in Limon and drove along the volcanic rock shoreline. Limon itself is populated with English speaking people from Jamaica. We passed on through and camped on a sand beach to the south east of the port. This can me an excellent opportunity to test the electrical generator and other things be brought for our stay in Colombia. we enjoyed the beach for a day and a half before heading back. The return trip followed the one and only road into (or out of) the area. Seven hours and a hundred miles later we arrived back in San Jose.
So ended my second trip in 5 months of living in Costa Rica. It is a beautiful country and we have enjoyed our stay here so far. But still, day by day, we look forward to the time when we can speak Spanish well enough to head off for Colombia.