El bautismo en el Caribe...Baptism in the Caribbean

 Jesús está vivo en Puerto Rico! Jesus is alive in Puerto Rico! Today was a wonderful Lord's day as we celebrated the baptism of 5 people along the northern coast of Puerto Rico at Dorado Beach. The church we attend is a mixture of both Americans and Puerto Ricans; however, the majority are from the states as it caters to those who are living here temporarily on business, with the military, and the occasional family from small town Texas whose son came to play baseball:)  For the baptismal celebration we traveled caravan style after the morning service to a beautiful private beach community where we gathered down at the water for the most wonderful believers experience, participant and observer alike.  Baptism, although not a necessity to salvation, is indeed a testimony to others of our new life in Christ as we follow the example that was set by our Savior.

The pastor briefs everyone on what is going to take place before we "gather at the river" as the old hymn says

What a moment for a mother (or the father whose standing by)! Participating with your child in the most important decision of his life has to be the experience of a lifetime! These are our dear friends, the Conn's, who Naomi stays with once a week to help with home schooling, Amy and her son Jacob.

The kids run to play in the water! Wyatt and his friends

Sweet little onlookers.......




My mother enjoying the view

It was a really fun day for all of us. Below is our friend Abner. I say "our friend" because we all enjoy Abner's company. He has the best personality and is teaching us so much about the Puerto Rican culture, but for some reason he seems to like Naomi much more than he does us:/






“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”  Luke 3:21, 22



Beisbol!

Note: if you are receiving this by email notification, you must go directly to the website http://www.harshfamily.blogspot.com/ to view the videos.
    
 ~Oh yeh, we came to this island to play baseball didn’t we? True, this was the means for which our journey was begun, but in the bigger scheme of things life has a way of using circumstance and situations as a catalyst for something greater. At least this is the code I’ve adopted. I like to call it the “Providential Code” whereby God orders and directs our path according to what He sees that will benefit Him and His greater purpose in our lives, and in the lives of our children as well. What we are experiencing here in PR is much bigger than Hunter and a baseball opportunity or training. It includes every one of us on this journey; the pages of each of our lives are still being written, and the plot and purpose are still to be discovered.

      Nevertheless, this post is about baseball! But not just an update on Hunter’s training, rather some fun information on Wyatt and his becoming a little leaguer in Puerto Rico. Again, we stand in awe of how all is orchestrated on our behalf, and how we just “happened” to be indirectly directed to the best little league organization on the island. I was reluctant to take part in what might be a foreign language fiasco and perhaps have me traveling in high crime areas to attend practice and games. After several phone calls from connection Hunter’s coach had, we met with one Piry Vega (pronounced “Petey”) who came to meet us at the corner McDonalds so we could follow him to the practice field after our getting lost.  Piry has been running Roosevelt Little League for 50 years and only speaks a little English, but enough to give me the names of about 7 or 8 major league players who got their start on Roosevelt fields. It was a delight to watch as this kind, older gentleman welcome Wyatt to his league and insist, with a big smile, that Wyatt at least try some Spanish. He assured Wyatt that the boys on the team he would be placed all speak English. Wyatt’s biggest fear was that he would not be able to communicate with anyone and had him going to bed in a fit of anxiety the night before the first practice. The photos will tell how it all played out, which couldn’t have been better.  It was the red-headed, fair-freckled Puerto Rican boy named Andréas that said, “Hey Wyatt, come one!” and took him under his wing right away.(red-headed Puerto Rican, no kidding! That's what is so great and interesting about PR, the diversity of its people.) What I most want to report on is the opening ceremonies of Wyatt's little league. We were told we didn’t want to miss it because, as with everything else, Puerto Rican’s know how to have fun and celebrate any and all occasions. The opening of the little league season is no different. It was held on the fairest of nights with a cool breeze and a nice manicured field which was all lit up with white folding chairs lined in the infield to take in the teams and players that would stroll into the ball park after completing their march along the parade route. That’s right, a parade complete with school band and a girls twirling team. Each of the little league teams walking along the neighborhood streets around the field in their very cool unofficial major league uniforms (the best looking uniforms our boys have ever worn), from the youngest team to the oldest boys followed by a small band of local men and dads playing their drums and horns. There amidst it all was this little blue-eyed blonde boy hailing from somewhere between College Station and Huntsville in a land far, far away…that little town of Shiro, Texas! It was Wyatt Harsh, or as his new baseball buddies say, “wY-At”.  The parents that I am surrounded with at practice and games couldn’t be a better group of people. All are so warm and inviting, wanting to make sure we are not the least bit held back by anything. I just wish David were a part of all this with me as we are use to being back at home. To make up for it, I text and send photos from my phone from the practices as well as the games. Sometimes Wyatt calls dad on the way back to our apartment to give a report.  He is arriving for a visit next week to see it all. He can’t wait, and neither can we!  

     ~Hunter continues to play and train. However, we still have only seen one game of his which was during the holidays. They do not follow a regular schedule of games but pick them up as the week goes along and coach makes plan to play in this town or that. All of them seem to be on the opposite end of the island and too far for us to drive. Gas prices have gone up here just as we have heard they have back home. With the cost of living in PR, I have to be very conservative with gas in order to get Hunter back and forth to the academy and to get Wyatt to his practice and games. The senior boys on Hunter’s team are being scouted and given scholarships to attend colleges in the states. Penn State was recently scouting the team and approached Hunter. Intrigued by his being the only “gringo” on the team they wanted to know his story and what brought him to PR. They asked how long he will be here, so maybe they will put a mark by his name and come back next year when he is an eligible senior. That is our hope although he is making his list of potential colleges in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. He can’t go too far from home; mom and dad want to watch some college ball! The team is getting ready to attend some of Major League Baseball’s Spring Training camps in Florida both for observation and a chance to meet with the clubs top coaches. They will be playing in a tournament while there. 

     The weather is unusually cool and rainy for this time of year in San Juan, or so the locals tell us. We are enjoying it though! Sure makes for nice afternoons with the doors and windows open. It’s been so windy and cool at the beach that we’ve had to leave early. Don’t you hate when that happens??? But then again, there’s always tomorrow. Every day is just as beautiful as the day before!

I've also included some other random photo's of all that is unique and/or beautiful around the island.

I guess it's just another day at the ballpark in Puerto Rico when a former Major League Coach comes out the ballpark and gives batting and fielding instruction. That's what happened last week at practice. I walked up to the fence to ask one of the dads who "that man" was conducting Wyatt's practice. It was Edwin Rodriguez, coach of the Florida Marlins in the 2010/11 season.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 

I've mentioned before thatI go out to the baseball academy Hunter attends and give an English lesson to the boys. They are enrolled in online schooling, so the Coach was thrilled when I offered to give them a "real" classroom experience once a week. I'm setting the bar high for these aspiring ballplayers from PR! Our copies of Homer's Iliad just arrived and we have begun reading... Improving their English while reading the classics; a rewarding experience for me every week.

                                                                                                          

This is my drive to the baseball academy...into the beautiful mountains of central Puerto Rico. The photo doesn't compare to what it looks like to the naked eye; a sight that I never tire of seeing week after week.

The photos below are not postcards, but he beautiful beach area of Ocean Park and Condado where we live!

Beach Patrol

Our apartment is a couple of blocks just behind the condo's in the photo below.

Condado Lagoon where we like to paddle board

James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

 

                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                  

Correction to current post!!!

If you are receiving automatic notifications from my blog you probably received the one where the video did not work.
Log into the blog at http://www.harshfamily.blogspot.com/ to see the post with working video.

joni

Celebrar la vida!

Celebrating life...that's the subject of this post and I dedicate it to a dear friend Glenda Evans. This is not my usual post of what we are doing in and around the island. I just couldn't do that today because, as I sit to write, Glenda is arriving at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to undergo a radical mastectomy, her second in 10 years. I can't explain why I'm sitting on an island in the Caribbean only thinking about and praying for her while she's feeling, knowing, breathing, and living a situation that most of us cannot fathom, nor can an English teacher find the pathos to describe. What I can explain though is that Glenda is the epitome of LIFE although it has been declared that certain parts of her body are being destroyed by cells that want to take that life away from her. As I approached the beach this morning, for my daily exercise and time of reflection, it was for and about Glenda that I saw what I saw. For most of you the video below will seem like a tranquil, beautiful, early morning beach side scene, but what I usually walk out to each morning is a much calmer surf with the sun just beginning to reflect on the turquoise ocean. Today, however, the roar of the tide greets me before I even get to the edge of the park to step down onto the sand. It's coming in hard, the waves are breaking close up and way in the distance; the tide is coming in much higher than normal and bringing with it a murky brown stirred up by the rough waters. I think about Glenda, about the roar of cancer, the waves of uncertainty, and the desease that has perhaps discolored what is to her, without the cancer, a clear blue sea of all life holds for her future. Then I look beyond the crashing waves that are dragging in the murky tide and I can see the usual Caribbean blue in the calm distance. I look up and see the the early morning clouds, deep and heavy clouds, with the sun beginning to illuminate them from behind. Wow! God of the universe, You are ever present! As I said, this isn't the usual scene I come upon on calmer mornings, but my Lord in all His majesty is still there and all I have to do is look beyond the rising tide and the impending clouds....He is there written on the scene before me!  So I want to celebrate life with Glenda Evans today! She knows He's right there with her no matter what the tide brings her way, and He illuminates every breath she takes and the joy she brings to those around her. 

Below is a video of the the roaring tide coming in as the dawn broke this morning on Condado Beach in San Juan.  I must admit, it's still a beautiful place to be!  Below that, I thought it would be nice to "celebra la vida", or celebrate life, in dedication of Glenda today with photos of life, in the form of greenery, which surrounds us in the tropics. There's also a wonderful clip of the most beautiful sea urchin Wyatt and I came across recently as we combed a new part of "our" beach. Check out the life in that little guy, pretty amazing!

                                                                               

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit"  (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Viejo San Juan

~I get a few text or emails from friends back home that frequently start with, “How’s life in paradise?” It’s funny how what seems like paradise to many has turned in to most of the same ordinary tasks of life back home…housework and school, picking up or taking one of the kids to practice or other (Wyatt just started baseball and getting Naomi to and from her weekly babysitting jobs). This is not to say that I don’t feel a certain bit of urgency in continuing to explore and enjoy the “isla de encanto”, or isle of enchantment as the island’s motto goes. With only 5 months left before we return home, I want to make sure we have discovered all there is under our feet. Hunter has even made his list of places of interest that he would like to see on the weekends, having researched a travel website on PR. (Want to take a vacation from on your home computer? Have some fun with Google and look up your fantasy destination place. There are so many beautiful photos and amazing history to be gained just from the travel sites. And the reviews! I love to read the reviews of people who have recently traveled to these places!)

~The past week was a special treat as me and two friends from church had a girls outing in Old San Juan. “Viejo” San Juan is how they refer to the “old city”. If you see the map below, San Juan is the capitol of PR and extends to a very large area that encompasses smaller municipalities in and around the metro area. We live in one of those areas, like a suburb, called Condado along the northern coastline.

The old city is where the cruise liners come in about every three days and all the tourism takes place among the blue cobblestone streets. The blue cobblestone, or azul de adoquines in Spanish, were used as ship's weights when they would anchor in port after Columbus discovered the island and Ponce de Leon became its first governor. Once the ships were full of cargo to return to Spain from the Caribbean, they would remove the blue weights, or adoquines, and leave them behind in the old city. Thus, they used them as pavers which became the blue cobblestone streets that add to the charm of  Viejo San Juan today. You can see Naomi’s cute turquoise toes below showing off the pavers.

The purpose of our girls outing was for my friend Carrie to show me certain aspects of the city I had not seen so that the next time mom, and the kids and I are in the old city, I can bring them to these places with a little more background knowledge. Carrie gives periodic tours to a political action committee she belonged to while working in D.C. which frequently sends members to PR via the cruise liners, so she knows the layout quite well. Our newest friend from church, Anita, joined us for the day as well. Anita is from Holland having just moved to the island with her husband who is employed by the military. (Most of the American families down here are either FBI or military employees. We’ve learned a lot about the “perks” of having a career with either. Not so bad. Working in the stock market is another option which has our friends from The Woodlands enjoying the island life. Let’s keep our kids bound for college; there are many options out there that could open up travel to themJ)

~Our first stop was the authentic Puerto Rican, or Caribbean, coffee experience!  This was a little spot right on the pier where the cruise ships dock. Great local young men from PR with their fedora’s and dreadlocks that serve up the richest, most flavorful cup of café leche you have ever had. Starbucks would be out of business in the states if an ordinary, everyday cup of coffee was served the way it is here on every corner…it’s what latte is to us back home; rich, hot cream in every cup, standard. A spot of raw brown sugar and mmmmmmmmm.

Even so, I had to show you the enchanting Starbucks huddled among the other quaint little shops and restaurants.  Funny, the little local coffee spots that serve up the "real stuff" seem to get more business! Island coffee...I wonder why?

~It was MLK Day so people were off work to enjoy the city and cruise ships were just coming in. I don’t care if we ever get to take a cruise at this point. Having seen these massive “cities on water” come in and out of San Juan weekly is enough to behold! (it’s a most amazing thing to watch even from the park on the beach near our apartment as they slowly make their way to and from the island along the horizon. And at night, when all you can see are the lights flickering on these massive liners in the distant Atlantic…talk about an awe inspiring sight!)

~ We had lunch at La Bombonera on Calle San Francisco, famous for their Mallorca sandwich. There are imitations around the island, but nothing like the original! It is has been called the, “Egg Mc Muffin of the gods!” While this Christian English teacher doesn’t believe the so called “gods” had as much as a piece of toast to eat, I do believe that if our God ordered a breakfast sandwich it would be the Mallorca from La Bombonera.

~From here we were drawn in to the most charming art gallery (most of the stores and galleries are open to the streets with the cool breeze from the ocean wafting through). The white stone walls and Spanish archways, with big wooden beams on the ceilings, drew us in to walk on the original Spanish tile floors. Once in this old world atmosphere, who wouldn’t be intrigued by the curious and odd sculptures and beautiful artwork on the walls? As I inquired, this was the Botello Gallery, or Galeria Botello. I recognized one of the sculptures as being the same form of one seen in a park near our apartment so I inquired of the gentlemen in charge. He told me it was the same artist, gave me the background of this particular artist’s style, and in the most humble way went on to tell me the artist’s he was speaking of, and in whose gallery we were in, was his father Angel Botello. Wow, was I honored to be speaking to the son of a well renowned Puerto Rican artist. (Some research on the internet when I returned home confirmed just how prolific this artist was from his career in Spain, France, Mexico, and the Caribbean.) Not only was this his late father’s art gallery, it was also this middle-aged son’s childhood home, so we got the entire history of the building and his father’s artistic legacy. Botello’s sculpting style is most interesting in that he highlights Haitian women figures from his time spent studying in Haiti. His son told us the odd looking figures were his father’s depiction of the women’s flat heads that would carry the huge baskets of produce and their long, strong necks for the same purpose.

I’m still trying to figure out how to bring a piece of art work home with me with it arriving in one piece:/

Below, Wyatt with a Botello sculpture in the museum garden near our apartment (the flat headed Haitian women).

~ The photos below include ones taken with mom and the kids in OSJ. I have so many photos of each of the spots I put on my blog and wish I could show them all! This blog takes me about 4 hours to sit and compose, and then wait for the photos to download. Hence, the reason I’m so slow in posting.

Me and my mother at the old city gate. The "red gate" was the original entrance to the city when the ships would come in from Spain. The men, both dignitary and commoner, would walk through the red gate that still has the Latin inscription on top, Benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini translated, "Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord", and up the road that leads straight to San Juan Catherdral. The Cathedral is the orginal structure dating back to 1500's, making it the oldest cathedral under the American flag.

 An ancient tree in front of the city gate, and what remains of the 42 foot tall old city walls, is a pretty awesome place to sit while looking out at the San Juan Bay just in front of us.

We have taken tons of photos of the different colored spanish style apartment buildings, homes, and store fronts. Naomi and I like to call out the ones we would live in if we had our pick.

     I hope you enjoyed the “tour” of Old San Juan. I truly feel it is a blessing, honor, and privilege to be able to take you away from your ordinary, everyday routine every once and a while and share with you what the Lord is allowing us to experience on this little island in the Caribbean. How I wish we could take a different week for each of you who read this blog to visit us while we are down here and I think often which one of you I would take here, and which one there.  Consider yourself with us when you read my post to at least experience a mental getaway for a few moments.  In case you haven’t put into perspective just where we are, I’ve included a map of the Caribbean belowJ  We have one hanging in our apartment kitchen and will all be a little better acquainted with the geography of the region when we return home. We are so close to the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean hot spots that we could actually take a small boat “taxi”, or inexpensive charter flight that goes to and from daily, but that all adds up when traveling with five.

We will remain forever thankful for where we are, with an opportunity we would have never dreamed of just a year ago. Seems like each year I walk with the Lord (I’m officially middle-age next month as I turn 45!) I realize ….

He truly does carry my tears in a bottle … Psalm 39:12

And that my afflictions on earth are a means to learn to trust in His statues which set me free… Psalm 119:71

How He wants me to experience HIS peace no matter where I am …Philippians 4:7

And He will allow times of refueling and reflection that I may carry on his life’s plan for me, but I must slow down enough and learn to look for these moments where He’s calling me to “get away” with Him, even if it’s a mental spot, not always physical… Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:23, Isaiah 26:9

And that if I wait on the Lord, just BE who I’m supposed to be in Him instead of DOING all the time, He really will give me new strength…Isaiah 40:31

And lastly, while the spiritual and mental rest are the joy and reward of a life lived with and for Christ, there are times He wants nothing more than to also give me the desires of my heart which usually come in ways I cannot even fathom...  Psalm 37:4, Psalm 81:10, Isaiah 58:14

The secret, I’m finding out, is going through the trials of life crying on Him, trusting in Him, abiding in Him and then taking the opportunities He puts in my path to experience Him even more…when my children are a part of that journey, I count it a life well lived.

Tanto tiempo, por ahora (so long for now)...

De cara al futuro (looking ahead)...

~ Feliz ano neuevo, or Happy New Year. More importantly, Happy Dia de Reyes...Three Kings Day!
Our New Years was uneventful, as we have found that it is quite hard to celebrate the festivities and traditions of the PR culuture if you are not part of a Puerto Rican family. The traditions run deep and are pretty sacred to the family; outsiders, or mere aqaintances, are usually not part of the celebrations. (Naomi has made a friend through volleyball that has been over to visit her on a couple of occasions. He made the comment that he was surprised when we invited him in from the patio area and visited for a long while. He said that receiving invitations to enter someone's home in PR is a very personal thing.) Needless to say, although I am trying my hardest to become a part of the culture while we are here and give the kids the fullest experience, we stayed home on New Years Eve, yet celebrated with at least one of the PR traditions. There are two different versions of the traditional grape eating that takes place at midnight. One says that everyone must try and eat/swallow 12 grapes from the 12 second countdown, in order to usher in 12 months of good luck. If you fail to eat all 12 by the stroke of midnight, you fail to receive the good luck that many months. The other is to just simply eat 12 grapes at midnight. We're went for the latter, and so each had our 12 grapes at midnight and listened to the fireworks go off all around San Juan, near and far, for about 2 hours.  Living in the tourist area, there were many big hotels having displays and parties to the break of dawn. Yes, they will party until the break of dawn the next morning, and not only on New Years :/

~This past Friday, January 6th, was Three Kings Day. I think I like this Puerto Rican tradition because its meaning centers around the gifts the three kings, or magi, brought the Christ child instead of the American tradition of Santa Claus. There is no escaping an American influence like Santa, but even in 2012 the centuries old tradition of celebrating Three Kings Day on the island, 6 days after Christmas, is alive and well, and still very deep rooted. Yes, the kids in PR get gifts on both occasions (score for them!), but de Reyes, or Three Kings, is much more emphasized than Santa. Like the cookies all westerner's leave for Santa on Christmas Eve, the kids of PR leave grass out for the king's camels the night before.There are more family festivities and lots of food for the day. Again, I couldn't let the kids go without experiencing TKD for themselves.

1st photo is the photo station in the mall with the three kings. Not Santa, but the three kings:) The next photo shows a common display of the three kings above an apartment entryway on our street.

Below is our own little set-up for Three Kings Day. Wyatt had a hard time finding grass to leave out for the camels since we are surrounded by concrete. The "kings" left little trinkets for each of them the next day. Two Christmas's is not an easy thing to do (meaning more gifts), and a little unnecessary, so I stuck to very small surprises just to give them the idea:)

There are still more festivities to come in January. Next weekend marks the official end of the Christmas season with the big island celebration of San Sabastian Festival, honoring the catholic saint and martyr said to have been shot with arrows by the Roman emporer Diocletian. San Sabastian festival is known as the "Mardis Gras" of PR, so we will see and experience for ourselves, very cautiously. 

Hunter goes back to the baseball academy this week, marking the official end of our Christmas break here at the "casa". I am so ready to get back to some sort of routine with the kids and their school. I think I speak for all of us. Naomi will be staying 2 to 3 days a week with a family from our church and helping with their home schooling efforts, not to mention enjoying her stay with this wonderful family in the upper class resort community in which they live on the beach in Dorado; sure hope she can keep up her own online studies in such a terrible place;) We will be hunting for a baseball league to get Wyatt involved in with the hope that at least the coach will speak English. I will still travel to the baseball academy once a week to give the boys an English lesson as I will be introducing them to classical literature through Homer's Iliad. I'm excited to see how they take to it, as all of them are so eager for new horizons. Mom and I are also looking foward to joining a nearby Zumba and Spinning Studio!  Please, pray that all these great aspirations are as the Lord intends:) I hope and pray that your aspirations are as you intend in the New Year as well. ~j. 

p.s. the blog now has a feature in the top right section where you can follow my entries by simply submitting your email. I hope you do as this is my way of feeling connected to so many of you back home.

Wyatt flying a kite near El Morro Fort in Old San Juan

*****AMY HAMBRIGHT! If you are viewing this blog, please send me an email. I have had 2 broken phones since being here and lost all contacts. I do not have your email either. You can leave me a comment through this blog, then I will have your email address. Wyatt is dying to skype the boys again!