And on Sunday, We Rested

After breakfast this morning, Ken Dunden (GOM's property manager here at El Jardin Sagrado) drove us around the Orosi Valley to see some of the nearby sights.

Our first stop was at Casa Del Sonador (the dreamer's house), a local woodworking shop. The two brothers who own it are master craftsmen who carve local scenes and religious imagery from coffee tree wood. Their father started the business something like twenty years ago, and it has become very famous in Costa Rica. Chris said he even saw something about it on the Internet. The carvings ranged in size from a few inches to upwards of six feet. There was one beautiful statue I wanted to buy, but it was about four feet tall and weighed probably 100 pounds. There's no way US Airways would let me bring that on the plane without buying it a seat. Casa Del Sonador was a phenomenal sight to behold; even the building itself was hand-carved (see the photo above and the one of The Last Supper below)! God has truly blessed these brothers with artistic talent.


Next, we drove to the ruins of the Church of Our Lady of Ujarras, which was the first Spanish colonial church in Costa Rica. The original church on he site was constructed around 1540, although the European-style buttressed building that you see in the photo was not finished until 1693. I would tell you when it was abandoned, but that part of the sign was gone. [Update: Web research indicates that it was abandoned in 1833 due to earthquake and flood damage.] Oh, and we did finally get to see our first tropical bird of the trip--something in the parrot or macaw family, I believe.

But perhaps my favorite thing this morning was the fruit stand we visited right down the path from the ruins. It was run by a husband and wife, and they were incredibly friendly and helpful. The wife spent a long time chatting with Jeff in Spanish, and the husband kept cutting open fruit so everyone in our group could sample every kind of fruit he had. I don't even know what all of it was, but it was absolutely delicious. We bought a good assortment of fruit to take back to El Jardin Sagrado for Gloria and Isa to cook.

As we were heading back to the van, we passed a woman selling hand- made jewelry. Howard tried on some of the rings, but they were all too small. She looked Howard up and down and said, "no mas grande!" The Ticos are generally pretty short (even I feel tall a lot of the time), so I'm guessing that very little down here was designed with Howard in mind.

After we returned to camp, we rested for a while and then attended church services. Rick was teaching about the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and emphasizing how we all can make a difference.

14. "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.
15. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
16. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.
17. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.
18. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21. "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22. "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23. "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24. "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26. "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
27. Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28. " 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
29. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
30. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Then, there came the big surprise. Rick asked for 14 volunteers to come forward. It took a while, but they all came up. To their amazement, they each received $100. But there was a catch: they had to use the money to make a difference for someone else--feed somebody who's hungry, pay rent for somebody who can't, etc. It's each person's individual choice how to use the money, but he or she must report back to the congregation how the money was spent and what the results were.