He Likes to Cuddle

I learned something new about Ben Talmadge today. Apparently, he likes to cuddle. I realized this as I was asking him to move to his side of the bed in the middle of the night. It was not exactly a safe night to cuddle with me either, because all night long I had wonderful dreams in which I was becoming a werewolf, and all of my friends were vampires, so I had to fight them all.

Luckily Ben was not injured in said, cuddling while dreaming of violence, incident. Most of the day, was spend traveling to Media Vuelta on the Sarapiqui river. Food is very cheap and very good in Costa Rica, which is a blessing because we ate out twice today, which may be a person record.

I Take My Coffee With Two Flies Please

Upon Arriving in Media Vuelta, Ben got his first introduction into Palmas de Mamre missions and Ana Moshenek. Ana is a little lady who has done missions work in Costa Rica for almost 20 years. She felt a calling when she was in her fifties to leave her successful real estate practice and to a plot of land in the middle of a country that she did not know and did not speak the language. Since then, she has been serving the community through missionary training schools, medical services, and church planting.

When we pulled up in the public boat to the dock of Media Vuelta, we were greeted by an energetic Ana Moshenek, who was simultaneously glad to see us and irritated that we were many hours late. Immediately upon our arrival, Ben and I were directed to her boat, where 30 sacks filled with sand were waiting to be carried up hill and across a small field to the site where we were about to build a new house.

We carried the 50 pound bags, dumped them, and then travelled to a nearby beach where we refilled the bags and repeated the process. All in all, it took about 1:30 hours, and Ben and I each carried about 1500 lbs.

This is not at all an unusual situation in foreign missions, as I am sure will become obvious to any of you who have not had similar experiences. Many missionaries struggle because of the rigors of the work, and it takes a special person to be able to find a balance between getting things done, and caring for your own mind, body, and spirit.