Vacation!

Photo taken on Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Story to follow. . .right now, I'm too busy relaxing!

Another milestone!

We just completed our second of three trimesters in language school. Praise God! It really is amazing how quickly this past trimester has gone. I feel that we have learned a lot and sometimes I wonder where all the information will fit in my brain. Surely my brain has to be reaching its capacity! The greatest part is though classes ended Thursday, we live in Costa Rica, so everyday is a learning opportunity. Just this week, Ryan has had the opportunity to communicate with a mechanic (that's a whole different story) while I have had the opportunity to get to know our Tico neighbors. I feel the need to begin each conversation with an apology and warning, something like the following: "I am sorry. I am learning Spanish. Any way that I may slaughter the Spanish language in the following minutes is not intented to be offensive to you or any other Spanish speaker. Thank you for your patience." But I don't. I've learned that I CAN communicate, though not perfectly. I've learned that Ticos are wonderfully kind and patient. And I am thankful to God that they allow us to torture them with our terrible Spanish. So this weekend, we celebrate one more trimester down! One more trimester closer to serving the people of the Dominican Republic in a calling from God that we are honored to be answering. Please praise God with us for all He has done in our lives to make language learning rewarding and enjoyable. Continue to pray for us as we head into our final trimester, I believe it will be the most demanding one yet. And please pray for our new home in the Dominican Republic. Pray that God is preparing the way for us in the details of our anticipated arrival, as well as in the hearts of the people we will have the opportunity to serve along side of and minister to.

Where did July go?

Ryan just pointed out to me that it has been over a month since I posted anything on the blog. For those of you that may be following us, I am sorry! This month has flown by. So I decided to just give you all a quick run down of some of the things happening in our lives. We began this month by celebrating Micah's 3rd birthday. A few of our friends got together at a nearby park and had a fun time together. Of course there was cake and icecream but we also had a pinata, a very Latin tradition. It was tons of fun and we were blessed by the fellowship and gifts that our friends shared that day. We also had a treacherous adventure to Sarchi, a nearby town known for its handycafts. However, the brakes on our "new" car went out on us and we spent the day at a mechanic's shop in Grecia (a little town 15 minutes from Sarchi) while praising God for his protection and provisions. (More details in our July newsletter) Since we had promised Micah a fun day, we spent a little bit of time playing baseball in Grecia's townsquare and eating icecream before heading back down to San Jose with our new brakes! Later in July, we had the opportunity to enjoy a birthday party of another friend. Micah and all the guests were thrilled to have inflatable games to play in. What a party! Then the department of health closed down all schools and child care centers in order to prevent a furture spread of the Swine Flu. But our language school did not close. So Ryan and I spent the week taking turns watching Micah while the other was in class. Though a week without childcare made our schedule hectic, I enjoyed being able to spend the days with Micah again. I am looking forward to settling down in the Dominican Republic when my role as a mother will once again consume most of my day. Then just at the end of the month, we had to leave the country for 72 hours to renew our visas. We decided to zip over to St. Petersburg, FL for a long weekend and got to enjoy the beach, Busch Gardens and shopping with some of our family. Ryan got to celebrate his birthday a little early with Dairy Queen Cake and pizza by the pool in Florida! Once back in Costa Rica, we celebrated Ryan's birthday with our housekeeper, Marta. Ryan and Marta share a birthday. We had a little cake and exchanged some small gifts after lunch that day. All this happened while spending each week in classes studying Spanish. (which continues to progress little by little, some days better than others! ) I am thankful to God for how He continues to provide for us, not only our needs but many of our desires. What a busy wonderful month!

A "new" car

Since the rainy season is now here, it has made our life a little more difficult. The short walks to the grocery store, or to catch a cab to nearby shopping are now complicated by timing the trip to avoid torrential down pours. Though MANY people live like this, we have been praying that a affordable opportunity would arise for us to own a car. And God blessed us. A missionary associated with the school was returning to the states and wanted to sell his car and at a great price. So we are now proud owners of a 1992 Ford Explorer! We look forward to the convenience of life with a car again! We also are grateful that we already have a buyer for when we leave Costa Rica for the same price we paid! Praise God for helping meet not only our needs but our desires too.

Culture Day

We had a wonderful Culture day at school on Friday, June 19. The teacher’s shared with us about the tradition of the local “Turno” or carnival and how they are a large part of the Tican culture. Ryan and his grammar teacher, Francisco started the events off with a LOUD fireworks display as is traditional in all turnos. The fireworks were followed up by the commencement of carnival type games complete with our teachers as “carnies”. It was a great day to spend having fun with the staff and students at school without the stress of studying Spanish.

Our Anniversary

We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last night by going to a wonderful Peruvian restaurant called Inka Grill. We enjoyed delicious food and the company of one another. I thank God for my husband, whom leads our family to follow God's will in our lives. I couldn't be happier and plan to spend many more years serving God with my beloved Ryan. Happy Anniversary to us! :)

A Shocking Experience...

Ok, in the states I am sure someone would sue for this, but we are in Latin America....not going to happen. This really is just a short blog about how life is a little different here than in good old Virginia. I went to a nearby pulperia (small grocery store) earlier today to buy a coke and a gatorade to replenish my depleated system (I have been sick for about a week). I reached my hand in the very normal looking refrigerator, the kind that you find full of cokes, pepsi's, and other sodas at a Stop-in or something. But when I put my hand in the fridge, I got shocked!! That's right, something shocked me and I jolted backwards! Simaltaneously the lights to two full fridges went out and the same time. After coming to (ok, it wasn't that bad), I looked inside the fridge and low and behold there were the electric wires for the fridge sticking out off the side of the fridge. Uncovered, contacted and exposed!! I had scrapped the wires with my pinky finger and received my first shock from a refrigerator!!! Hey, just part of being a missionary in a different country I guess.

Rain, Rain

Well, we have entered into the rainy season in Costa Rica, and it is just that. Evidently the rainy season begins in May and goes through October, progressively getting worse each month. Right now it is beautiful in the mornings and then gets cloudy about midday. Then it rains all afternoon and usually into the night. I asked our empleada "house-keeper" how she lives during the rainy season because this much rain is new to me. She laughed and responded with the word "Mojado," which means "wet." She said that you just take your umbrella everywhere and just expect to be wet all the time. Therefore, that is what we do. Everyday after class, we bundle up in our rain jackets with hoods, our waterproof covered stroller and make a run for it to our house, which is about a 20 minute walk from our school. Praise God for the rain and the good it does for our earth. However, it will take some getting used to for us Gringos that are not used to living in the rain.

Now for the REAL Champion!!

Here in Costa Rica (and in most of Latin America) this week is called "Semana Santa," or Holy Week. There are numerous celebrations, parades and parties all throughout the country. However, many of the festivities are fueled by the Roman Catholic Church, which puts more emphasis on the death of Jesus than on the resurrection. Many times they leave Jesus on the cross. I pray that this week is a "Holy Week" for you. A special week in which you remember what Jesus did for you on that cross. But don't leave Him there. He is ALIVE! Jesus esta vivo! He is alive and He lives in me!! Amen! Praise God! Thank you Jesus!

And Then There Was Only One!!!!

CHAMPIONS!!

Then There Were Two...

Go Tar Heels!!!!!

Then There Were Four....

Go Tar Heels!!!!!

A La Playa

Costa Rica has many wonderful things to see. They have cloudforests with thousands of animals, cities with dozens of museums, and beaches with beautiful water and wild monkeys. That's right, white-faced monkeys roam freely on the beach as if you are invading their space. Near the end of February, we had the opportunity to take Micah to Manuel Antonio, one of the closest white sand beaches in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is very popular and very touristy. Along with a beautiful public beach, Manuel Antonio has a National Parque that offers visitors the chance to see various types of animals. We decided to take Micah into the National Parque since we both love monkeys so much. On our short hike through the park we so several sloths, butterflies and a Jesus-lizard (it gets it's name because it walks on water).

The walk was great, but the 3 private beaches inside the park were what we were really there for. These beaches are beautiful white sand beaches with beautiful blue water dangling on the edge of a rain forest and are less populated than the public beach. Micah played in the sand and water with several of his friends from school all day long! At one point, the infamous white-faced monkeys begin strolling the beach and looking for things to steal. That's right, they walk directly over your towel and steal any food that you have lying out. Then the beach racoons came walking down the beach followed by the massive lizards. Talk about wildlife, this place is truly a paradise. Praise God for the opportunity to relax and play in the sand with Micah.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go!

Monday-Friday we leave our house shortly after 7:00. On a good morning, we are out by 7:15 and we enjoy a leisure 5-10 minute stroll to school. We drop Micah off at his school first. After tearful good byes, Ryan and I head up the hill to the other side of campus where we begin our day's work. We don't punch a clock and our teacher's don't even seem to care if we are a few minutes late, but don't underestimate the task that lies ahead each day. From the moment we enter the classroom, our focus is LEARN SPANISH. We listen to Spanish, read in Spanish and try our best to speak Spanish. Our teachers have gotten a bit more ridgid since they welcomed us less than three months ago because they too understand the task at hand. We MUST learn Spanish. In order to function in our daily lives, it is necessary. Whether giving directions to a cab driver, talking to Micah's teachers, or meeting people at church, it is necessry. But that is just our day to day living. In order to answer God's call in our lives to minister to the people of the Dominican Republic, it is most necessary.

Date Night- Feb 21

Ryan and I enjoyed a beautiful evening with some friends high atop the mountains of Costa Rica at a wonderful restaurant, Ram Luna. We enjoyed fine dining and local music and dance. I even got roped into participating in a traditional dance. It was wonderful for us to leave our son with a trusted babysitter and have the time to enjoy one another. Our friends, that we dined with are also missionaries. We enjoyed hearing about the passion God has written on their hearts to serve the people of Central America, as we had the opportunity to share our heart for the people of the Dominican Republic. It's amazing how God used that one night to refresh and renew us. It also allowed us to see how God is preparing us and others to serve as missionaries throughout Latin America. We praise God for our date night!