Our vacation is officially over and we have been back to classes for a week now. During our vacation between the first and second trimesters, we had to renew our visas so we traveled back to the US. We enjoyed seeing family and friends but the trip seemed so short that we didn't really get to relax that much. Well this vacation break was two weeks long and we had some friends and family visit us! It was wonderful because we got to visit with friends and family, see some of Costa Rica, and relax! It was a much needed break. It was great how God used the time to refresh us in so many ways.
The first week of vacation began when we picked up Ryan's sister, and two of our best friends at the airport on Sunday. We got to enjoy one another's company in San Jose for about 24hours before we headed west to Punta Leona, a beach resort on the Pacific coast. My former teacher and friend, David offered us his grandparent's beach house for the week. So David, Daniel, Dana, Erin, Ryan, Micah and I spent the week in a house overlooking the Pacific ocean. It was a great time of relaxation with good friends.
The following week, Dana and Daniel returned to the US and Jeanie, my mother-in-law, came down for the week. We enjoyed hanging out in town while helping Erin, my sister-in-law, get settled into her new home and classroom here in Costa Rica. (Erin is now teaching 3rd grade at the Sojourn Academy, an international school located on the campus of the Spanish Language Institute (ILE)that we attend.) And with Micah occupied by his grandmother, Ryan and I had time to look forward to our approaching transition to the Dominican Republic.
During that same week, we also welcomed Andrew Butz to San Jose and to ILE. Andrew also wll be studying Spanish as he plans to work in the Dominican Republic (DR) with Eastern Dominican Christian Mission. His ministry focus in the DR will be a camp and conference center in the eastern portion of the country. We have had the opportunity to work with Andrew on a short term mission trip in the past and we look forward to being able to share this time with him while we are all in language school.
Near the end of our vacation, we gradually warmed up to the idea of returning to school by helping out with the new student orientation. The school welcomed a large group of students entering their first trimester at ILE. We are excited to get to know other students wanting to serve God in Latin America.
God allowed us to be renewed so we were able to enter our final trimester with excitement and a eagerness to learn everything we can in our last few months here in Costa Rica. What a nice vacation.
