Good morning people! It's 5:00am and I am awake... no, I don't have a big test, Dena is not in labor and I didn't have a hankering to see the Saddam trial on CNN... I just haven't been able to sleep since 3:30. So I decided I'd get up, brew some coffee and study vocab words! Do I know how to have a good time or what?

This should be interesting. ME trying to put together coherent thoughts before caffeine.

This weekends been a good weekend. Friday night was a great experience. We went to my friend Rodrigo's house for supper. He had asked me when I saw him earlier in the day if I liked fish, and being the missionary who would never want to offend a national, I said yes. I didn't mention that the ONLY fish I like is shellfish, or that Dena's not a fish fan either. Well, we got to his place Friday night and... wow... I mean... w-o-w. I have lived on the east coast of Canada for much of my life and never have I had fish this good. It actually restored my faith in the fact that fish is really a meat, not just some vegetable that swims.

Enough about the food though... Oh... wait... coffee's done brewing...

That's better.

So where was I... ok, Rodrigo's house. His family is great. His mom is a sweetheart and made us feel so welcome in her home. His father was definitely a vocal guy and told us an... interesting way... to determine the sex of our child. And his brother has been playing piano for 2 years and really put on a mini-concert for us after supper with some beautiful songs from classical to "The Beatles".

Some observations from supper:

• Dena and I were served our food on what I assume to be the only matching dishes in the house. This was a show of hospitality.
• Many Tico homes have intricately decorated hard wood ceilings. That's right, ceilings. It looks like something we might expect to see on the floor of a beautiful home in the US or Canada.
• Ticos are not shy, but not prideful either. Rodrigo's brother (who's 16) was happy to play for us. Show me a 16 year back home that would be HAPPY to play the piano for an hour in front of complete strangers that just happened to come over for supper.
• These experiences are important. Not only do these experiences help us understand the culture better, but they keep our overall purpose of being here in check. I do not believe that Rodrigo or his family have a relationship with Christ and we have been entrusted with showing them, through actions, what this relationship is about.

On Saturday we began our new practice of a Saturday Sabbath. It's difficult to truly relax on Sunday for us because with church, we must be working overdrive in Spanish... and trust me, after only a month or so of studying... this is not relaxing. So Saturday morning we slept in and Dena made me a special Breakfast of Pancakes (she found Aunt Jamimas syrup! She's great!) and bacon and then I went to the large feria (fruit market) to get our weekly produce and of course, flowers for Dena. Dena's favorite flower is the Calla Lily. I can remember paying $30 for 3 flowers in Canada for Calla's at a Bethany banquet. Imagine our surprise, and Dena's squeals of delight, to find that we can get 10 Calla Lillies at the feria for about $1.10... ever have the feeling your in the wrong business... JUST KIDDING.

Well, I should run, like I said, I want to do some studying now that the caffeine is kicking in and we've got a busy day today. This afternoon we go for, what I PRAY will be our last Dr's appt before the baby's born.