Day Eight- On the Road Again

This morning we woke up really early to eat breakfast and haul all of our stuff back up the mountain. This was much more work than taking it down the mountain, even if it had been pouring at the time. Tomas and Lindsey picked us up and we headed off to have some team time! Our final destination was three hours away, near another volcano that is still very active. On clear days you can see small lava flows running down the mountain.

As we were driving we stopped to look at Costa Rica’s largest waterfall from the road- it was beautiful! The water seemed to shoot straight out of the jungle. We also passed through the epicenter of the earthquake that hit 2 ½ years ago. There used to be a small village right near the epicenter, but the entire village was wiped out. Mud slides and ground movement caused the whole area to slide down the mountain and be buried. Many, many people lost their lives. The village is completely abandoned now, as most of the bodies were never recovered and most of the locals say they can still feel their spirits in the area. We passed by parts of abandoned houses, random pieces left behind, decaying and sad. I have no pictures of this area. As Tomas pointed out the spot where he lost a good friend, it seemed to insensitive to me to snap pictures of a place that had become a cemetery.

Huge Iguana!

We moved on from the abandoned village, and as we continued our journey we stopped at places that only a local would know! We stopped at a particular bridge where huge Iguanas hung out on the trees- some of them were half my size. We went to a place where you can hike down to the bottom of a waterfall and swim around it. Another beautiful waterfall and fun! A little while later we stopped at a place near a river. As we followed Tomas we realized what we were doing- a rope dangled from a tree over the river, and people were using the rope as a swing to jump off the cliff and into the river! It was a blast. All of the students loved it, and even I managed to fling myself off once. We headed to lunch, and did a little shopping. Then we went to the hotel where we were staying to check it out and drop stuff off. It is a cute place, not actually much better than our jungle house, but it doesn’t have the hike, so I’m happy!

Cliff Jumping!

We climbed back into the van and proceeded to our next destination. We were now in a very touristy part of Costa Rica, full of resorts and tourist attractions. It was strange to see so many other people not from this country, and strange to see how nice the resorts are. Because this is an active volcano, there is of course… hot springs! However, the actual spa hot springs pool thingy costs $80 to get in the door- no joke. Eighty dollars. A little further past the pool is a river that flows straight through the spa, and it is very hot. So we went there instead! It was very fun, a neat local place that was free and surrounded by beautiful jungle. It was pretty popular, but we still had a lot of space to ourselves. The hot water felt so good, and we entertained ourselves here until it got dark. Our sore muscles slightly less so, wet, and happy, we went to dinner. After dinner we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep and showers.

Hot Springs/River

Tomorrow we’ll be waking up at 4am for the drive back to Vera Blanca. We will reshuffle some luggage, possibly take a quick run at Poas if the weather permits, and then head to airport.  I think all of us are very excited to be coming home!

Day Seven- Siesta Fiesta

Today we were supposed to spend the morning hiking up to see the volcano Poas, which is the volcano we’ve been living near this week. However, the weather today was not cooperative! Low lying clouds covered the mountain tops making the journey to the top pointless. Plus… the van broke down. So that was that! So instead we spent the morning at Lindsey’s house playing Uno, and then we headed over to the school a little early. It rained all day mostly, from downpours to light mists. We have learned to be very flexible here.

Poas is the mountian on the far right- everything from Poas to the peak on the far left is crater

At the school we had planned for our last day with the students to be more of a hangout day. First, the students of El Colegio had a little presentation for us! They made us a banner and we all signed it. Then Jesus, Nadia, and Daniella sang us a song. Next the dance team put on a little show for us, showing us some traditional Latin dancing. It was awesome! At the very end the dance team all grabbed partners for a little cha-cha, and Clair and Joey were among the lucky ones.  After their presentation we did a bunch of games, and as the rain continued to pour we improvised. Tomas ended up getting us stuff for root beer floats to end the day. We all said our goodbyes, which was hard for the students on both sides. They really connected very well. We all made some new friends this week.

Joey and Laura dancing!

When the rain let up we walked to the church again to try and finish our work there. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but after all the cleaning we did we were supposed to paint, but once again we had to be flexible. Tomas and Lindsey say that it is very important to get the community involved whenever possible, and the paint was supposed to be donated. They would rather the community get involved then us just go grab paint and get the job done so…. the job didn’t get done! We washed windows and weeded, and did more cleaning. We stayed at the church as people began to show up, as we were all having a final dinner together (us, the ADES team, the church, etc.). It was wonderful spend time with everyone and say our goodbyes. The best part? Tomas drove up with the van fixed and ready to go! So we’ll still have our adventure tomorrow.

After dinner we headed back to our house to pack up. We are leaving tomorrow morning at 7am to head off to unknown lands! Packing has been quite the process- I think many of us opted to leave certain things here rather then try and get it back into our bags. But we are looking forward to tomorrow, and to the next day when we will be home again.

The Whole Group!

Day Six- A View From the Treetops

Today was a little different for us, and the next few days will be as well. Just because of scheduling issues, we have been working very hard the first part of the week, and during this second part we will be doing more team building activities.

This morning we once again rose early and hiked our hill to wait for our ride. The old and cranky van came roaring over (with Lindsey as it’s crazy-yet-competent driver) and we headed out to attach ourselves to long metal chords and go flying over cliffs…. That’s right, today we went zip lining through the jungle! We went to a place that took us on a flying tour of the jungle tree tops. It was a blast. This attraction had 14 separate zip lines, some through beautiful trees with the light shining through, and others soaring over the tree tops with fantastic views of the mountains. It literally took us over an hour to get through all of these zip lines, the last one being the longest and coolest. The students loved it!

getting ready to zip line it up!

I won’t lie- at first I was terrified, but after I got the hang of it I had so much fun. I loved looking down over the jungle and seeing the tree tops. It was a serious rush. After the last one, I had shaky knees!

The students from the school we’ve been working with came as well, and after the zip lines we were broken up into teams and given a sort of race to complete, with challenges. The three teams had to row a canoe across a lake, pick up a flag, row back, run to complete a challenge (like filling up buckets with water using only sponges, or dressing up your team captain in ridiculous clothing), and then row to get another flag. The students from both countries got really into this activity, and had so much fun with it! Not to mention getting sopping wet, but this time not from the rain; this for some reason makes it better.

We headed back to the school and had lunch with the students and did our normal devo time with them. Today Laura, Conner, and Alisha were in the driver’s seat. They did a number of activities involving carrying each other’s burdens, and it went really well. After this some of us headed back to our little house, and other’s went on a nature hike through the Jungle on Tomas’ property. I have been told that this hike was cool, but very wet and muddy! After dinner we headed back to church, this time for Bible study night. We are familiar faces there now and the congregation just loves to have the students around. Corey and Amanda shared their testimonies tonight. Corey did a great job, I was really proud of him. Amanda tried really hard to share her testimony in Spanish, and actually did a pretty good job at this.

waiting for our ride

Our day almost over we went home and discussed what tomorrow is going to look like. The students (and the leaders!) are all very tired, and we sent them to bed early. Tomorrow is another full day, and we are looking forward to it.

Please pray that we can completely finish the work we have been doing at the church tomorrow- pray for good weather and no complications. Please also pray that our last day with the students at Lindsey’s school will go well and provide closer for both sides. Thank you!

P.S.- We may not have access to the internet Saturday, so please do not be concerned if you do not hear from me! We will be fine, and we look forward to seeing some of our readers on Sunday J

Day Five- A View From the Trenches

Today was a good day, we got a lot done. Today was a typical day: this morning we went back to Lindsey’s house and finished staining and veneering the outside walls. We also did some painting. We had another beautiful morning, and Amanda was pretty much recovered. Dan came with us today, but mostly slept on picnic tables! He seems to be feeling a little better today though. After the house we headed to the school to spend more time with the students. Our team is really starting to make connections and friends with the students of El Colegio, which is awesome! Today my team was large and in charge (Skyler, Clair, and myself!). Clair and Skyler did so much work to prepare for today, and it went so well. We did a skit, which the students have been practicing all week. I’ve posted a video below. Skyler and Clair then led a group discussion on Hebrews 12:1-2, which went really well. Our whole point was to throw off the sins and distractions that keep us from running after Christ, so we then had students make bracelets, and they had to engrave a word from Hebrews that would help them stay focused on Christ. The students had a blast with this part of the day!

(sorry video did not work! will try again later)

After the school we headed back to the church to continue our work there. We still had not received paint, and we are learning many lessons in flexibility! So today we continued to clean, weed, and move and burn branches cut down from the surrounding trees. Then the rain came, but we were pretty much done and we headed back to our house in the light rain. Once you get in the jungle you don’t feel the light rain because the vegetation is so dense- you just get dripped on a lot. Again, the jungle was beautiful today, and we saw more huge bugs (I think they’re so cool, but some of the girls scream every time- EVERY TIME!).

The church that we've been working at all week

We enjoyed dinner together and the evening was dedicated to playing ridiculous card games and participating in a devotion time with Tomas. We will prep for tomorrow and maybe finally get some time to rest. For the rest of this post I have opened it up for the students to post their thoughts on the week so far……

From Carrie…

Hello all! As you may have noticed, it’s a little hard for us to get internet access here, so I can’t guarantee any future messages. Today is our fifth day of the trip, and our third day with the students. Today our team did a silent skit in the school, and yesterday Chase, Joey and I did a lesson on the seriousness of sin. The weather here is very unpredictable; one moment it’s sunny, the next its pouring rain. The nights and mornings are surprisingly cold, I kinda wish I had brought another sweatshirt. Maybe five or six of the students speak English, so communicating has proven to be interesting during lunch time. Anyway, I have to go now. I love you and miss you all, please remember us in prayer!. (p.s. don’t forget to feed the fish!) Love--Carrie V  J

From Skyler (Escarlo)… Hey everybody I’m doing well and having a great time. Escarlo is next to my  name because the natives here cannot say the consonant ‘s’ without an ‘e’ before it, and Carlos is a common name so I finally have a Spanish name (sort of)! Anyways I have been feeling well, except for one stomach ache. I’ve been having a great time with the students and the team. I’m so glad the skit turned out well! Thanks for praying! God has been so faithful and revealing in events and especially nature. I’m also learning to trust God more, so pray for that! Most of all I’m so happy that I can use Spanish all day and everyday. I’m learning more in a few days then I do in a month of Spanish class. Es loco! It actually makes school seem useful (quote this cause I’m never saying it again). Adios

From Chase…

Hola todo! I hope that everyone is doing well and is having a fun summer.  I am writing to tell you all that I am doing perfectly well and having one of the greatest weeks of my life.  The first five days of our week in Costa Rica has been simply amazing. So much good is being done down here and I am happy to be but a small part of it. Our team fellowship is strong, and the success of our mission thus far is evident of our team unity. We have met some really interesting people. I personally have made a connection with a kid in the school named Samuel. Personally, this trip has been a major eye opener for me. No words can explain the impact this trip has had on me and I cannot wait until I get home to share it with al of you. At the same time, I do not want this week to end as it has been one of the greatest and most impactful of my life thus far. I wish I could write more, however I ensure you that I will have plenty to tell when I get back. I wish you all have a great week and I will see you all soon. Love – Chase

Hopefully a few more students will be able to post tomorrow! Till next time!

Day Four- All Tied Up

So a couple of our team members were sick today, Dan and Amanda. We’ve got a little bug going around, so please pray that the rest of us will stay healthy!

beautiful jungle!

Today we once again woke up to bright and beautiful sunshine, which allowed for almost all of our clothes to dry! Hooray! After breakfast we headed straight to the church to continue the work we had begun yesterday. We once again washed and scrubbed things, this time with bleach in an attempt to remove the worst of the graffiti and moss. A few of us also mixed up some cement and patched up a bunch of holes in the walls of the church. Another crew joined us today and climbed into the nearby trees to hack down braches with machetes- yes real machetes, very big and with cool leather scabbards.

We were then off to the school once again. Today Joey, Carrie, and Chase were running the show. Chase did a cool rope trick to help illustrate the gospel, and did a great job! Carrie explained a few Bible verses, and also did a great job. We ate together, and headed to the gym for more soccer. After school we went back to our house for some down time, since we were headed to church in the evening. Right as we returned to the house it began to rain again, but we were all inside and our clothes were dry, so the rain today was peaceful and wonderful. It made our little house smell fresh again and the flowers outside bloom- it was a wonderful way to see the jungle. It’s not a rain forest without rain!

the place by the soccer feild that we've been cleaning

After dinner the group headed out to the church again for the prayer service. Unfortunately I did not go, I stayed home with the sick ones instead! The team tells me that it was interesting. The congregation did a lot of “simultaneous prayer,” where everyone in the room prays out loud all at once. Clair shared her testimony and did an excellent job, just really really great! At one point the pastor asked the congregation where they worship God, and Skyler responded by telling the pastor that he loves to worship God on the soccer field- all in Spanish! They had a good conversation. Skyler and many of the students are really doing well with their Spanish. It’s amazing how much you can learn in this kind of an environment in terms of language.

This evening we have mostly been prepping for tomorrow and spending time together. Amanda is feeling much better, but Dan is still sick. Tomorrow we once again have two service projects, so please pray that we will have good weather and good morale. Pray also that we will get healthy and remain healthy for the rest of the week. Finally, please pray for team unity. With tiredness comes less patience and shorter tempers! Thanks.

                                                                                                                                                                                             

P.S. If you haven’t figured this out by now, I am writing at the end of each day but I cannot post onto the blog until lunch the following day while we’re at the school. It is the only place nearby with internet!

Day Three- You Are My Sunshine

Today the Lord had mercy on us- we did not get rained on. In fact, during one of our service projects it was sunny and hot enough that we stripped off shoes and rain jackets and laid them out on cars to dry. How sweet the feeling of dry shoes! Such a great blessing, and it is amazing that a mere little climate change can do so much for one’s morale.

a huge milipede!

Today we once again began the day bright and early. We headed over to the house that Lindsey and six other people working for ADES live. Thankfully our missionary friends do not pay rent, but they are expected to renovate this house for the owners- a job we were there to help with. The entire house is made out of wood, and needs constant upkeep from the rain and damp. So our job today was to sand, stain, and varnish the outside walls. This was a lot of work, but we were happy with the sun, and we were also happy that if it did rain, we would be kept dry by the houses’ overhang! A number of the students still look like they got a bad fake tan on their hands- it’s going to take awhile for that stain to come off!

drying our clothes and shoes

the house we worked on

At lunch we headed over for our first day at the school. The school house is one room, with a covered outdoor portion as well. We met the students, who were shy at first but really opened up after awhile. Amanda, Corey, and Dan led us in an icebreaker and then we all ate lunch together. Then Amanda and Corey led the group in a lesson about fixing our eyes on the unseen rather than the seen…. And then we played soccer! They did an excellent job- seriously.

After the school time we walked (a very long, hot, and entirely uphill walk) to the church we went to yesterday- La Iglesia De Vera Blanca, or the Church of Vera Blanca. We have a number of projects we will be doing for this church during the week, as this church is one that Lindsey, Tomas, and ADES are really trying to network with. We primarily cleaned up the soccer field next door, washing down benches, picking up trash, and such. Tomorrow we will be repainting the shower houses, benches, and whatever else needs it. We will also be laying down some cement for proper drainage. The pastor of the church worked right alongside us, and one of the ladies came by with cold strawberry juice that she had made herself for us. It was delicious!

conner scrubing away at algae and moss

And suddenly it was time to head back to our house for dinner, the day almost over. We are tired, but feeling successful! I even have a few blisters on my hands today from working so hard- something I’m actually quite proud of. For dinner, Ben (another ADES missionary) brought down his intermediate English class to practice English with us. I had a wonderful time getting to know a couple of ladies and trying to take complicated English words and make them simpler! How funny it must be for them when we attempt Spanish!

We are all very tired, and we need to get lots of rest tonight and be more disciplined at staying hydrated. Please pray that we can continue to dry out our clothes tomorrow. Please also pray for energy and stamina as we start to feel run down so early in the week. Also, that the Lord would continue to reveal to us the places where we can be of the most use. Thank you!

a river we cross on the 1/2 mile hike to and from our little house

Day Two- Worlds Apart, Worlds Together

Our first full day in Costa Rica! It started bright, beautiful, and EARLY. After a solid night’s sleep we were all in much better spirits today and ready for anything. Anything is what we got!

We were greeted by the cows and a beautiful morning. We hiked up the mountain and met Tomas at the top, one of the founders of ADES, the organization we are working with here (that Lindsey is a part of). Tomas’s father is from Costa Rica, but Tomas lived in the US and was educated there. He returned to Vera Blanca as a missionary. He gave us a walking tour of some of the damage from the earthquake two years ago. We saw where huge landslides had swept away houses and relocated people. It put a great deal in perspective for us.

After this we went to church and learned the true meaning of greeting your brother or sister in Christ with a kiss! The congregation was positively effervescent! We were welcomed warmly. We proceeded to sit through over one hour of charismatic worship in Spanish. During this time both Chase and Carrie shared their testimonies with the congregation with the help of a translator. They did a wonderful job. Then we prayed for a long time. Then the preacher came up and set our ears on fire for about an hour- we learned how to say “amen” with gusto! We had a wonderful time of fellowship with the small congregation, doing our best to communicate with small words and big hand motions.

Inside of the Church- it used to be a restaurant

After church we headed over to the strawberry festival to partake of some lunch and enjoy the festivities for a short time. Here Lindsey handed us each some callones (money) and sent us off to order our own lunches- quite the adventure! Amanda’s Spanish has been a great help to us. After lunch it was off to the La Paz waterfall gardens. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we found ourselves in sort of a mix between a wildlife refuge, a zoo, and a nature hike! We saw lots of local wildlife, from toucans to little monkeys to big jaguars. Best part of the day; Joey getting pooped on by a toucan!

Just as we were headed to see the waterfalls it began to rain. Did I say rain? Sorry, I meant that all of the oceans of the world were upended on our heads! This was not enough to stop us, and sopping wet we plowed on to see a few absolutely breathtaking waterfalls and beautiful vegetation. By the time we hiked back from the waterfalls and boarded our van to head back to our house none of us had even an inch of dry clothing- and the rain was still pouring. Tired and cold we recovered quickly with warm clothes and a hot, delicious dinner made by Rosalina, our chef and house mom for the week. She is wonderful! The rest of the evening we have been preparing for our first day at school tomorrow- Dan, Carrie, and Chase’s group are going first. I am excited to see what they have in store for us! We are also doing two service projects tomorrow.

Awesome!

Please pray that our shoes dry out eventually and that none of our possessions mold in this damp air (seriously). Also pray for our interactions with the students of Vera Blanca tomorrow, and that we can continue to keep up good attitudes, even as the rain gear we all thought would be sufficient gets soaked through and never dries!

Shout out to my husband- I miss you and I love you!

Day One- Into the Great Wide Open!

4 am this morning we found ourselves in the lobby of an empty hotel, waiting to board the shuttle to the airport. We were tired, but we piled on the bags and packs and began the long process required to board a plane. Amazingly we did not have a single problem, and the clear skies gave us some truly awesome glimpse of the world below. Our real adventure started upon landing in Costa Rica, in the city of San Jose. With no cell service, barely discernible Spanish, and no idea where to go we still managed to meet up with our host and guide while we’re here, Lindsey. We were all very tired, but our day was just beginning. First we headed off to a local market with a huge list of items needed by various members of our little village in the mountains. It is hard to describe this market- walking inside I experienced the most extreme culture shock I have ever felt! This place was huge, like a really big farmers market. Everywhere you turned there were exotic (to us!) vegetables and fruits of all kinds; some we recognized but most we didn’t. Here we had our first of many rice, beans, and meat meals. We followed Lindsey around and around for over an hour as she checked prices and bargained with sellers. The concrete floor was covered in produce debris and every booth we passed someone began shouting at us to buy their food. Once they realized we were American we heard a great deal of “My friends buy my food! Buy my food!” On one side of the huge market were booths selling, and openly displaying, women’s under garments! Who knew that in one place you could buy tons of produce and undies!

The View from our House

We piled back into our van, loaded with food, and headed out of the city. Vera Blanca is about a one hour drive outside of the city, but we hit some major traffic. People here are crazy drivers! The streets are tiny, and we were all very impressed with Lindsey’s ability to maneuver this great big van past all kinds of obstacles. Once we were out of the city we began the steep climb- up up up! The van being what it was and the mountain being what it was it shouldn’t have surprised us when our stick-shift van stalled out on number of hills. We got our first glimpse of the real jungle as we roared up tiny roads with steep drops on one side.  We passed banana trees and coffee plantations, some which are exclusive suppliers for Starbucks J

At this point we experienced a classic Carrie moment- passing by a steep field Carrie gasps, pulls out her big fancy camera, and shouts “cows!” She then proceeded to take pictures. Apparently there is something very special about Costa Rican cows, although I still have yet to figure it out! Ears popping, rain pouring, we arrived at our destination- almost. We once again loaded up our bags and HIKED back down the mountain to get to our little house tucked away in the jungle. The rest of the day we talked, met Lindsey’s team, ate good food (rice, beans and meat!) and started trying to recuperate. We are all still in a little bit of shock I think, but we are looking forward to tomorrow- lots and lots of walking and wetness!

Our Little House in the Jungle

Please keep us in your prayers, especially as we face facilities that are a little more rustic then we were expecting and bugs that really actually do get much bigger in the jungle- who knew?