One Month

It is hard to believe that a month has come and gone! The past two weeks have been super busy. Here are a few things I've been doing:

Spent an evening with the GAP girls watching Cinderella

And we made high heel cupcakes

The GAP students American students who are doing a gap year between high school and college. They are in Costa Rica studying God's word and doing ministry. A few of the girls are in our Bible study. And last weekend all the GAP girls came over for movie night. They are such a joy to work with.

One of the leaders for the GAP students, Brittany, is quickly becoming a very close friend. She has been a wonderful source of encouragement. We celebrated International Coffee Day with peanut butter chocolate chip coffee smoothies!

This week I visited an ESL ministry. Jon works with a pastor who would like to start an ESL ministry at his church. I am exploring opportunities and different ideas for the ministry.  

There are mountains on the horizon but due to the amount of ash you can't see them

Turrialba Volcano is one of five active volcanos in Costa Rica and last week it erupted, spewing  tons of ash. Volcanic eruptions are fairly normal for Costa Rica, but for Turrialba to consistently spew ash for two weeks is uncommon. Thankfully, ash is the only thing we have to deal with and it is more of a nuisance than anything else. So cleaning the house happens quite frequently.

It is definitely not fall, but it smelled like it! One of our candles started melting because of how hot it was in our apartments today. 

Praises:

Time with the GAP girls

Time with new friends

Learning how to pronounce words in Spanish

Becoming familiar with San Francisco

Learning so much simply by being here 

So many wonderful smelling candles :)

Prayer request:

God's continued grace in areas of my life

Wisdom in discerning His will and place for me in Costa Rica

For the volcano to stop spewing ash

and as always learning Spanish

Week 2

The torch declaring independence from Spain for all Central America

This has been a super full week!!! On Thursday Costa Rica celebrated its independence from Spain. At 6 p.m. on Wednesday the whole country stopped whatever they were doing and sang the national anthem. Everyone had Thursday off so some friends and I celebrated by hiking to a few waterfalls.

On Wednesdays Joni and I meet with a small group of college girls, Rene, Christy, Kenzie & Michaela. We will be memorizing Proverbs 31 and studying Ruth together. Please keep these girls in your prayers as they are here for the school year to study God's word and do ministry.

Finally, one evening this week Jon and I were chatting when suddenly I remember some people from the States had given me money to give to our friend Eduardo. When I told Jon, he paused and looked at me surprised and excited, "Ready?" "Yes!" "I need any money you have for him. How much is it?!?" As it turns out Eduardo had a bill due the next day for the exact amount that I had for him. Eduardo, being a man of faith, told Jon earlier that week about the bill and said he wasn't worried because he knew the Lord would provide. Thank you for those who gave to him, you were more of a blessing than you will ever know.

Praises:
Provision for Eduardo
The girls in our Bible Study
Making new friends
Serving with the McGinnis Family - I am so grateful for them
Feeling confident enough in Spanish to walk to the markets by myself

Prayer:
For God's grace
The small group on Wednesdays
Learning Spanish
Getting all my homework done
The McGinnis Family as they start their Fall routine

Pastor Eduardo & I

Meghan & I in the street singing the anthem

The waterfall (it is much bigger than it looks :)

The hiking crew

Safe & Sound

Thank you for your prayers. I've arrived safely and am slowly starting to transition to my new culture. I'm beginning to recognize familiar land marks, learn where to buy groceries, and how to get around. The McGinnis Family, who I am interning with, live about a mile from my apartment, I feel safe walking to and from; it is safe enough for me to walk alone, as long as I'm in before dark. Learning the language is very difficult but all I have to do is walk out my door to practice.

The transition is much harder than I thought it would be. It is overwhelming and stressful at times but I am so blessed to have so many people willing to teach me and to guide me in this transition. 

Praises:

Lots of good coffee

Growing spiritually

Always learning something new

Living in a beautiful country

Prayer requests:

Learning Spanish and the culture

Transitioning well

Against spiritual warfare

Jon, Joni & I

The view from my window

My adventure buddy, Mrs. Patty