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!