Scribbles in the Sun

Just in case anyone is wondering, I don't spend most of my time tracking wildlife and wrangling snakes.  Cuz I just realized that it looks that way judging by my last few posts.  And I don't spend all my time travelling either...but I do have to exit the country every 90 days to renew my tourist visa until I'm able to secure a visa that will allow me to hang out here a bit longer.  When I do have to leave the country, I'm thankful for some great opportunities that I've had, including a very special week just a few weeks ago. The C&MA in Canada held a field forum for all their Caribbean Sun international workers (and some of our American colleagues were even able to join us!).  We got to hang out for about 5 days together in Cancun, and I think I can speak for everyone there when I say that it was a sweet time spent together.  Many of us who do missions here in Latin America were able to meet for the very first time face to face!  Here are some of the ...

Today I had one of those "wildlife experience" days.  I am learning to deal with creepy crawlies.  The hard way.  I lifted up a plastic bag today and found a teensy little gecko.  He was so little and cute, but I did kindly ask him to leave.  Geckos eat bugs and stuff, so I don't mind having them around, but when they pop out of nowhere all of a sudden, I have to give a look of consternation.  Then came the ants.  When I was in Costa Rica, I often found trails of ants heading to a miniscule crumb.  If one finds a bit of something to eat, he calls his buddies and it becomes like a frat party gone wild.  Finally, the topping on the cake came tonight when walking around a corner I was surprised/horrified to find a snake in the house.  Ok, it was really small, but still, it was a snake.  I couldn't get ahold of my landlord upstairs.  And I had no idea what to do with it.  I corralled it into the bathroom with a broom, and then...

So I have named my sloths Mabel and Mini.  Mini, obviously is the baby....and I am still having lots of fun watching them. Today they were really active, and I was able to get a video of them.  They basically just passed the day like this, Mini holding on for dear life while Mabel climbed on branches and ate leaves.  That's right folks, if you're in the mood for excitement, come to my house and watch sloths eating leaves!!

It has been a fun weekend for me, since last night I discovered a momma sloth and her baby in a tree right across from my patio!  I wish I had noticed earlier in the day, or been able to watch them climb the tree, but by the time I noticed them it was already starting to get dark.  I first fell in love with sloths when I was in Costa Rica last year.  There is no way that you can resist those sweet faces that look like they are smiling! Today I stalked the sloths again, complete with my binoculars (thanks Sean!).  However it was a bit of a bust, since they slept curled up around each other in a tree.  All. Day.  Absolutely no action.  But I guess that's what kind of endears them to me also.  All they do is eat, sleep, and scratch...so it's a pretty laid back life. And I'm not saying I freaked out alot...but I may have jumped a bit, let out a little squeal, and ran to get my camera with heart pounding.  A far cry from the vid...

Please click below to see my latest newsletter. You can click on each photo to enlarge it, and in the bottom right hand corner there is a pause button. Thanks for visiting my blog and for your interest in my ministry in Caracas! This newsletter design generated with Smilebox

A simple joy in Caracas: Finding Smarties at the grocery store (well, a no-name version, but close enough!)

I've had one of THOSE weeks. I seem to be on a streak....last week was locked out of my house. Again. My car was in the shop for over two weeks, and today we finally wrestled it away from them (well, that's what it felt like!). And I had 3 days of my cell phone not picking up a signal inside my house. In fact, it wouldn't work until I walked OUTSIDE the front gate. But my car is back, my phone started working again about an hour ago, and I am generally in a much better mood. Tomorrow I'm finishing up the final preparations for some games we are doing at a children's outreach party on Saturday. The kids from my church will be meeting up with kids from a poorer area of the city and they will get to party the afternoon away together. Lots of food to eat, a bouncy castle, games, prizes for everyone, crafts, treat bags, face painting, balloons, a gospel message and the list goes on. I'm fairly certain there will also be a good dose of chaos as 70 kids run a...