Israelites and Manna

So, apparently if you buy too many cucumbers and don’t eat them within the week, they will in fact begin to disintegrate and emit a foul odor.  Ah, the joys of living on your own.  Who knew that planning meals for 16 people would complicate things so much when you are now only planning for 4? 

I’ve found out that, although I no longer am being awoken by the deafening sound of the train or the yipping of playful dogs, the clucks of chickens laying eggs, or the bleating of hungry goats, new sounds are waking me up in the wee hours of the morning.  The bus going into town stops just in front of our house every 15 minutes or so and (guess what?) my bedroom window opens up right onto that very same street.  Swap a train for a bus… I think the bus is quieter, though now people are chatting and greeting each other while they wait for the bus to come… this takes eavesdropping to a whole other level.  And there are several people who own motorcycles on our street and use them every morning to drive to work—noisy to say the least.  Then there’s the guy who sells fresh fruit and veggies, his voice echoing down the street.  There are still dogs, just different ones.  And then there’s a woman who likes to sweep the sidewalk at 6 in the morning—brush, brush, brush right outside my window.  I will get used to them, I will get used to them…at least this is the morning mantra I’ve adopted.

Not the best picture of our house...
I'll work on getting a different one

 On the bright side, my new home feels more and more like home now.  It still feels weird to leave Casa Adobe every night to go eat and sleep somewhere else but I like it despite the weird feeling.  I feel that our place can be a place to go and be myself and feel more like an adult than just another kid in the family.  I’ve really been learning how to cook, especially Nicaraguan type food of rice and beans.  And we’ve been learning how to live without a fridge—anything you want cold you either have to buy it right before you want it or buy ice to briefly store it.  But I think that by not having a fridge, we are learning rather abruptly how not to be wasteful and to only cook as much as you need for the moment.  It reminds me of God’s instructions to the Israelites in the desert: to collect only enough manna to eat for the day, no more and no less.  I guess in a way then we are Israelites, learning that collecting too much manna is not such a good idea.

Our new goat milking stand

Another note of praise, Sarah continues to be a huge blessing.  This past week we worked together to design and build a goat milking stand for Lady.  With the help of a local construction worker, we made it out of scrap wood we found around the house and have begun to train Lady to go up onto it.  Thanks Sarah for the great ideas!  She’s also been hard at work organizing tutoring supplies, office books and papers and designing a Spanish tutoring program here with Erika and Fabio.  She’s also helped me a ton with moving and organizing all my stuff at the new place.  I couldn’t have done this without her (or at least, I would have been more stressed and grumpy than I am now).  Her Spanish improves every day, even when she thinks she’s hit a wall and can’t think or say one more word.  Her humor brightens up my long work days and I’m beginning to realize that I dread her leaving.  Please pray that I will fully enjoy her time here and that I won’t become too depressed when she goes back to Michigan.

I just want to thank everyone again for all your support and prayers and word of encouragement!  I literally couldn’t be building goat milking stands or playing soccer or tutoring kids without you.  And, just so you’re aware, I may be using some of that money to buy me a bed to sleep on… maybe.  We’ll see :)  Until then, stay tuned!

New Faces and New Places

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you yet another emotion filled and action packed week, complete with a weekend getaway!  You’re not going to want to miss out on hearing about this once in a lifetime experience!  Details and other information listed below:

Standing and waiting, tapping my foot, holding my breath.  Each face that turns the corner makes my stomach flip, my heart speed, my breath catch.  But it’s a false alarm.  Waiting for my friends and siblings to come out of the airport was one of the longest waits in my life, but it was worth it!  To see their smiling weary faces, to be caught up in multiple bear hugs, to laugh at all of our inside jokes—I could not have been a happier person.  Apparently, I was visibly bubbling with happiness before they came, so much so that the whole house noticed :)  I just couldn’t help myself!  Finally they have a glimpse here of my life at Casa Adobe, the work that I do, the people that I live and hang out with, and the beautiful country I live in.  And yes, there was quite a bit of culture shock thrown into the mix, but we survived.  I then stole them and we went and hid for almost a week at the beach in Puerto Viejo.  What an amazing time just to sit and talk with them, face to face, hearing their voices in real life, not through small computer speakers.  I would have been content not to do anything and just be with them.  And we did, for the most part, due to infrequent torrential rains and a pretty difficult bout of sickness.  We managed to find the sun though and enjoy the beach, bike along it’s sandy shores, eat strange fruit, and meet new people.  But, through the good times and the bad, we had a great time together.   I wouldn’t take back a second of it.

Biking on the beach

 I also moved out this week—surprise!!  I am living in a small, two bedroom house that I share with Rachel, Guissell and (for now) sister Sarah.  It’s quite the change, let me tell you.  But it is refreshing to be able to have a place outside of Casa Adobe to retreat to, a place to just chill outside of the hustle and bustle of work.  And we are so blessed by the friendships we have here—we have way more furniture and things than we thought we’d ever have.  I’m still looking for a bed but the couch for now is working just fine.  And we are a bit short on any piece of storage-like furniture in the house so we are trying to be creative and collect as many pallets, cement blocks and pieces of wood as we can to build whatever we can to hold our clothes, shoes, and books.  Without money to spend, one needs to be a bit creative :)  

Baby Sage

And as I’m writing, we have a brand new member of the family wandering around the kitchen—a band new baby goat!  Lady had her baby Sage this past Saturday and what a relief that was.  We were all preparing for a difficult birth and (after many many horror stories of things gone wrong) we were all a bit terrified about what could happen.  But, before anyone even knew it, there suddenly was a new baby goat in the pen!  It was so natural us humans were never needed (nor wanted I’m sure).  What  and adorable blessing he is :)

Next week I’ll update you on how our soccer court project is going and how Sarah is doing but for now, I’m a bit tired and have to go eat some food.  God Bless and stay tuned!!

Time Travel

I’m not sure I could have packed one more thing into this past week.  I feel as if I’ve time traveled and somehow fit, I don’t know, a month into just 7 days!  We had a huge party for the whole neighborhood, Obama came to town, we found a house for rent and will be moving out, I hung out for a day at the pool with Guissell and her family, we serenaded a 91 year old neighbor for her birthday, we had a coffee hour for all of our neighbors, I am helping to cure a goat every morning, we had triple the amount of kids in tutoring yesterday, and Sarah, Evan, Alissa and Sarah are finally here!  Whew, I’m winded just thinking about it!

Limbo!

Ok, so first things first—Bola Bola.  We had our big kick-off event last Wednesday and it turned out super well.  Given, not everything went according to plan but it went nonetheless.  I would say we had roughly 50 kids there in all—a bunch of them new faces—and their families too!  There was face painting, water balloon fights, sack races, limbo, relay races, and a soccer tournament.  In all, I feel we really attracted the attention of the neighborhood and promoted our project to many new people.  Mission accomplished!

On Friday, Obama came to town and all of the public schools took the day off.  Roads were also shut down and so traffic was crazy—basically, the government advised everyone to just stay at home for the day (they were also afraid of protestors so, by giving them a day off, they hoped people would forget protesting and just go to the beach instead).  I’m not even sure we get the same treatment back home when the President comes to town!  Tells you how powerful the U.S. is and how we affect other countries… kind of sad really.  No one wants to pick on the big bully on the block.  The big rich bully.  Needless to say, I didn’t have trouble getting to work, so no day off for me.

On Friday, Rachel, Guiss and I looked at a house for rent that’s really close to Casa Adobe.  The price is extremely reasonable, the owners are very nice, and the location is perfect—so, we chatted with Ruth and Jim and have decided that we are moving out!  So, sometime in the next week or so, I will be sleeping under a new roof :)  Probably on the floor… I don’t exactly own a bed or anything.  But we will cross that bridge when we get there!  Anyone have any ideas or tips for first-time renters who have no furniture and very little spending money?

I Love Us :)

And finally, the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a while (seriously, I can’t wipe the smile off my face): Sarah and Evan and Alissa and Sarah are here!!!!  We are all still adjusting to the idea that we are here, in Costa Rica, together.  It’s such a weird thought!  Yesterday, I showed them around a bit, had them sample some typical Costa Rican food (including some very weird fruit—you’ll have to ask them all about it), and laughed so hard I thought I would die :)  It’s so good to be around all of them!  Now we just have to immerse them in some Spanish and chalk this trip up as a true learning experience (so you parents out there won’t think we are just partying here on the beach or something).  Tomorrow, we are leaving for the beach for a few days and so I probably won’t be able to write next week.  Don’t worry—we’ll have lots of fun :)  Stay tuned!