Thursday, January 13, 2011

On the shelves!

Preparing books to be shelved in a library is a tedious process and one with which I was completely unfamiliar. We arrived with 300 Spanish language books that we carried in 5 additional suitcases. When the books were delivered to the library, the work began. Various stickers, checkout cards, bar codes, ISBN numbers, and other cataloging had to be completed. The books were grouped largely into EASY and JUVENILE FICTION. The EASY books are for very young children and contained books of the type you've seen in previous posts. The JUVENILE FICTION books contained the multiple copies of the Narnia series and other great books for teenagers. Today, we began placing the completely finished books on the shelves.
We probably would have finished, except for one minor problem. Each Spanish language book receives a green dot on the binding. You guessed it, we ran out of green dots with still many books left to go.

So tonight, back to the Multiplaza, fighting the worst traffic I've ever seen. We found the Office Depot and actually located (with the help of a friendly employee), etiquetas pequenas en el color de verde neon. Excelente!!

Tomorrow, we will miss the shelving of the rest of the books due to a weekend trip, but will look forward to seeing the results when we return on Monday. We have been working every day since we arrived and we're ready for a short break. My sister arrived at 1 am this morning, and we will all be heading to Volcano Arenal, one of the most famous destinations in the country. Rainforest canopy tours, hanging bridges, volcanic scenery, and great Costa Rican hospitality are all things we are looking forward to. You can see our hotel at www.hotelloslagos.com.

We have now been here nearly two weeks. We have felt God's presence in our work, our studies, and our family relationships. We have spent about 40% of the money you graciously gave to our mission, and we have been working with the library staff to identify the best ways to use these funds to benefit the children in the upcoming school year. As you might suspect, the staff is excited to have the opportunity to purchase much needed equipment and books, and are so thankful for your generosity.

We hope you have a great weekend!

Bill

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