Remember when I was kind of snide and obnoxious about the whole “I get to go to Costa Rica for four days and lay by a pool and eat good food!” thing in my last e-mail? Hmmm…. It’s not that I necessarily believe that God punishes us for those little inconsistencies in our Christian character (trust me, I’m a big believer in the grace of God)…but it sure seems like I’ve had a few “disciplinary actions” taken against me lately. First there was the whole “Biblical plague” thing (okay, whatever…it was just a rash. But it was very annoying…), just because I was slightly entertained by 60 guys with anesthetized tongues. Then today when I got to the airport I realized that although my ticket and passport were together when I left my house two hours earlier, I now only had my ticket. Somewhere along the way my passport went missing (I’m praying that it fell out of my bag and is in my house somewhere). I was able to re-book the flight for tomorrow though and they didn’t charge me any thing. As well, on the upside, I could use one more day here to finish getting organized and to pack my bags in a more…normal manner. I didn’t actually go to bed last night (or shower this morning before leaving) and I packed for a three month trip at 4 AM in less than 10 minutes. =) Come to think of it, that might explain the missing passport…. But in my defense, I was putting together a VERY cool and (if I do say so) creative gift for my girlfriend. It ended up being a bit more time consuming than I had anticipated….but trust me, it’s going to earn me some points! =) She got creative too, and had breakfast sent out from the city (an hour away) and delivered to my house (eggs, toast, fruit, pastries, a flower and whatnot…). Yea…she’s pretty cool. =)

It was tough saying goodbye to the guys last night. I know that some of them won’t be there when I get back. But I do feel a peace about leaving. Most of the guys I work with are in fairly stable places right now. One of the guys that speaks a bit of English leaned in as he shook my hand and said, “You need to come back!” I said, “Of course I’m coming back.” He looked me right in the eyes and said, “No you don’t understand. You NEED to come back.” This from a kid who almost never acknowledges his need for friendship or help. So that was encouraging.

One sad thing though. A sixteen year old girl from our neighborhood was killed yesterday (right in front of the home). She was good friends with most of our older guys, and they were all pretty upset. I ended up sitting in my truck last night with one of them and just listening while he cried and expressed his sadness and pain. We talked and prayed together as well. It’s tough for these guys (as it is for all of us I think) to understand why these things happen. So please pray for the guys as they work through this.

Well, I need to go home and try to find my passport. =) And sleep maybe… Oh, and have shower and put on clean clothes. Okay, so maybe this isn’t so much a punishment as a gift in the midst of my own stupidity. =) I’d try to learn something from this whole experience, but it seems a bit late in the game for that kind of thing…..

Have a great day and know that the pool and good food is still waiting for me! =) Oh…and the conference speakers too….

Thanks for praying. See you all soon.

Ken