Thursday a.m.

Good morning! It's going to be a good one today!

I guess you know 2 things: 1) Rebecca, my only daughter, is studying in San Jose, Costa Rica this semester, and 2) there was a major (7.6) earthquake there yesterday. Thankfully there was not much damage or too many serious injuries. There are mixed reports about a couple of deaths. Some say there were quake related; others not. My main concern was quickly relieved when we heard from Rebecca that she was/is fine.

While I was out seeing people yesterday, I got a call asking if I knew there was an earthquake in CR. No, I did not. About the time I was processing all that, I saw a missed call from Kedra. She left a voicemail that went something like this: "I got a brief text from Rebecca saying she is fine and will try to call later."

Last night we finally got to Skype with Rebecca. It was so good to see/hear her. She is doing fine and seems very happy. We "met" her Costa Rican family, which was nice. Rebecca was at home yesterday morning when the quake happened. She said the little house where she is staying started shaking. Rebecca was unsure what was happening, thinking maybe she was dizzy or something.

As the house was shaking, her little "sister" grabbed her by the hand and lead her out of the house. Evidently this little family has an earthquake drill. They went outside to a meeting place. Rebecca said that the only damage in their house was a dresser mirror fell and broke, along with a few things knocked off walls and shelves etc. She said the shaking lasted a "long time." We thank God that she is fine and not scared by the whole thing.

Yesterday was good; good and humid! I ran 5 miles early yesterday morning. It was so humid, so I was not surprised by the afternoon storms. I knew something had to give at some point. It was nice to get some more rain. Yesterday ended with a really good class last night at church.

Today the main focus is prep for Sunday. This week that includes smoking meat. I am smoking 7 pork shoulders for a Honduras fund-raising meal on Sunday night. Multi-tasking. All day.