May 25, 2011
Today was my first REAL day in the Costa Rican jungle. I already do NOT want to go home... We woke up early this morning (like at the crack of dawn- literally- 5:30am)... I haven't mentioned it yet- but it is HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID. I cannot escape the sweat! haha. Anyways, we had excellent Costa Rican coffee and did devotions with the NU group, plus Curtis, Jeff and Mr. B. I guess I should mention the names of peoples in my day. Today I grouped up with Martha, Dr. Steinkamp, Deborah, Anju and Emily as we all followed our new friends Edwin and Korbin further up into the mountains. Edwin and Korbin took us to the middle of a mountain to do agricultural work. We hiked up those jungle mountains! haha. It was incredibly beautiful! Along the way I got to know Korbin, my 11 year old buddy, so much more (and later I would find out the reason why he was not in school). He was quiet at first but by the end he was my little friend- he even followed me a long as I planted corn. All day I attempted to talk with him in Spanish and most of the time we could follow each other. That was LOTS of fun! :D
Once we reached the top of the trail, there was 1 open house- no windows- just boards. And the bathroom was 3 wooden boards with a plastic bottom (which Martha and I used- btw!). The 2 boys and the house owner were so sweet to us. They made us benches everywhere we went to sit on! So, we planted rows of corn, MAIZ, and picked chilies (PICANTE CHILES)! And boy they were HOT! My hands are still burning tonight from them! haha.
Edwin and Korbin were so knowledgeable and used to the heat. It was amazing to see how they swiftly used a machete for everything, even young Korbin. All day they amazed me! As we came off the mountain, Martha and I continued to get to know Korbin and soon, he was picking on me! haha.
When we arrived at the bottom Curtis told us that it had been 120 degrees Fahrenheit with 91 degrees humidity! And we worked straight through it. I definitely needed a shower, for obvious reasons. Oh and by the way, there was no hot water. Aka- showers were freezing. After work, we played with the puppies and then I played ball games with Korbin, Gabriel and Bairon. Oh how I love them all so much! Adorable little guys!
At dinner we had beans, rice, pineapple, watermelon, salad and fried plantains :D Yum! Yum! I ate with Brandon, Dr. Steinkamp, Cathy, Jason, and Nando. We had a wonderful "Spanish" talk and I enjoyed getting to know them all a little better. I truly appreciated the servant hood shown by Edwin, Nando and the Family of Curtis and Cathy. They inspire me in my walk with God. Like, what am I giving up for God?!?! My prayer tonight was "Awaken my soul, Oh God! Lord, continue to speak to me and show me your truths. Forgive me for my cold heart, for my laziness, and for my lack of dedication. Continue to guide my path. I love you, Jesus. Guide and ordain the rest of our time. Amen."
~Angel
Girl's Layer :D
May 27, 2011
It’s hard to keep on the journaling because we work so hard during the day, have no extra time and are extremely exhausted by the end of each day… I should write about yesterday too.
Jason, Janelle, Heather, our new friend Nando and I made bags of soil for rice all morning. It was a great time and went by very quickly because Nando was helping us all with our Spanish. Jason and I told Nando that we should all go to the river this day. So we later asked Pastor Curtis to take us all to escape the heat. I also made a complete fool of myself trying to say embarrassing in Spanish (embarasada is pregnant in Spanish). Cathy said it was my God Moment when she was there to catch my mistake! Haha. It was really no big deal though, I’m pretty sure Nando knew what I was attempting to say. I sure hope so anyway. He has been so patient and kind with all of us. Today, I had breakfast duty with Cathy, Emily and Nice! It was so great to spend time cooking with them and laughing with them. What special people! Then we made more bags with Nando and pulled loads of dirt with wheel-barrels. After lunch, we mixed concrete with our bare hands. That was incredibly fun!!! Mixing the concrete was crazy! I also got to know everyone better while mixing concrete. Here I met Adiel (Ariel), such a small guy, but wow, he mixed concrete so fast! I was also SO proud of Heather! She got in and mixed concrete like a pro! Oh and before I go any further I’d like to mention all the things they have on base here that I saw along the tour Cathy gave us: cacao, lemon grass, cilantro, bananas, plantains, dragon fruit, passion fruit, coffee, oregano, pineapple, papaya, guayaba and noni. Also Thursday, Edwin took us to the store in town. On the way back, he took Dr. Steinkamp, Dr. Tomandl and I on a short cut and shared the fresh insides of the cacao with us. We brought some back to the rest of the group to try too! Then we tried the noni plant (vomit plant) with and without pineapple! It DEFINITELY tastes like REAL VOMIT! Wow! No joke. We have played a lot with the kids! Gabriel (Anthony’s son) taught me how to say home run in Spanish today during our baseball game! Una Vuelta- around! Everyone here is so open and sweet! I love them all! Can’t I take them home?!?! Or how about I just stay here?!?!
Our refreshments in Shiroles
Edwin and I with the Cacao
Our adventure looking for a red poison dark frog!
The locals found it!
Ok- back to today… After almost finishing the concrete (which the men were so patient with us- we had no idea what we were doing- aka we were mostly in the way!), Martha’s horse stepped on a puppy and Heather and I “ran to the rescue the puppy.” We didn’t help much but luckily the puppy just had a hurt foot. I did get a little scared when Ariel whipped out his handy-dandy machete! Lol. Then we all got ready for the river. We rode in a cattle truck (literally) with Lainey, Anthony, Tito, Edwin, Gabby, Nando, Steven, Ariel, Bairon and some others, along with our team. It was the most fun ride I’ve EVER been on! Janelle and I were talking about how we were having the times of our lives! When we arrived at the river it was breath taking, simply gorgeous. It looked just like one of those pictures you see where you wish you were there. Yeah, one of those moments. Of course, right away- Anthony, Nando, Ariel and Steinkamp dove in. Tomandl (who surprised me with his impressing strong swimming skills- now referred to as THE BEAST!), Brandon, Edwin, Ariel, Nando, Jason, Janelle, Heather and I swam across the river. Curtis said the current was not that bad but, the further it carried me I got a little scared because my muscles and body were so sore from mixing concrete earlier in the day. But, Heather and I made it across with safely- we were last! J Steinkamp, Nando, Edwin and I were last swimming back over and they actually had to talk me into swimming back because I was a little scared that the current would take me away! But I just cannon-balled into the water! The view on the other side was amazing! The river was quite the experience! I don’t want to forget anything- the view or the people! It has been incredible! I’m going to end this so I can move on to today!
~AngelOur CRAZY cattle truck ride!
The view across the river!
I can’t believe today is the last day in the jungle L I’m so sad it’s ending but so happy that it happened! I would not change it for anything. God has definitely changed me- softened my heart and convicted me of things that need to change in my life. I’ve learned true humility through the women workers (Fide, Ana, Carla, Mae, Deana, Camry and Cathy) and through the men workers (Nando, Ariel, Anthony, Edwin and Curtis). Today was one of the best days, although they’ve all been exceptionally memorable days! After waking up we had devotions on Colossians 4 which reminded me that I need to intercede for the people I’ve made new relationships with and the other important people in my life at home. J So, we planted over 500 trees and Dr. Steinkamp told true/false stories! Good times! Then we all hung out digging a ditch- Nice, Praise, Emily, Paige, Deborah and I. We also played with Bairon and Gabriel. Gabriel loves to grab us girls, giggle and run! He’s too funny! I’m really going to miss seeing him around! Both very, very sweet boys though. Then Janelle, Jason, Brandon, Heather, Emily and I helped Ariel and Nando mix concrete. SO MUCH FUN! Really! I think it was mostly because I was working with great people! Also, Brandon and I tried 2 person juggling! I’ve never been successful at that, but Brandon and I got it to work a few times! That was cool! Ariel and Nando were so gracious with teaching us all Spanish. We definitely decided that Nando was brilliant! He knows a lot more English than he lets on! Those were my God moments to the max- practicing Spanish with Nando, Jason and Janelle! Then God sent another beautiful gift (un regalo de Senor Dios)… HE LET THE RAIN POUR!!! AND POUR… I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it was! Then we all played soccer, BAREFOOT, in the field with the pouring rain! Oh my! It was incredible! Then I took a wonderfully long shower. Something new, that I’m extremely thankful for, is the ability to feel dry! I NEVER feel fully dry here! Then we ate a dinner which was a really yummy homemade pizza and empanadas. Yum! Yum! We all are so close now- I feel like we are such a tight nit little group! It’s awesome! Bairon, Emily and I played the game rock, paper, scissors which was fun! Bairon is so adorable! Then Jason, Janelle and I went and talked to Nando, Anthony and Leo (our amazing bus driver) one last time in Spanish J I loved it! Then we said God moments and I’m going to sleep now!
~Angel
Devo Time!
May 29, 2011
Today was a very hard day for me. Emotionally and physically, I am spent. I am not good at goodbyes- actually, I’m awful at them. I would not take the experiences or relationships I’ve gained for anything. But, I’m not sure I’m ready for a whole new set of people (for the next two weeks in the city). I know I will have to leave them too, and today was just so hard… But, because of the impact they left on me and I on them- I will “Press On” as Fidelina said in her goodbye speech to us! We woke up early in the morning and packed. Then we went to breakfast and Fide had made us her “special breakfast” as Cathy called it- eggs, yummy empanadas with molasses and as always- fresh pineapple and watermelon! We also ate fried plantains, rice and beans J I want to mention the extremely amazing sounds in the middle of the night (I don’t want to forget ANYTHING about here)- it’s just like you hear on the CD’s with the jungle music but it’s real! Anyway, breakfast was happy but sad (bittersweet). Fide, Ana, Anthony, Ariel, Edwin and Nando all gave beautiful speeches and blessed us! Sweetest people I’ve ever met! Fide’s speech, the very first one, made me start to cry and then I cried the rest of the morning and part of our bus ride back. I was so overwhelmed with the goodness of God and His people and their humility and faithfulness towards Him. Gabriel saw me crying and walked over and gave me a HUGE hug! His little hug made me feel much better! Then, later, Bairon (what he’s famous for) kept jumping up to hug me too! Precious! I’m going to miss them all so much and I want to pray for them all too as they will pray for us! I said my goodbyes and we left. I’m also sad because of the language barrier. Anyways, after our goodbyes we drove to the bus, we went to the beach! There we walked on the sandbar, relaxed and then drove to the hotel. All fun, but didn’t compare to my times working on the mountain, garden and cement mixing times with my new friendsJ. I’m just so overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness in the lives of all of us. He is so good! Te Amo, Jesus! J
~Angel
Gabriel and I
Jungle Family
Heather, Cathy and I (I'm obviously crying- as you can tell by my red eyes)
Edwin, Nando, Jason and I
Our group on the Sand Bar @ Cahuita Beach
Walking to the Cahuita Beach
Ok, I’m definitely feeling culture shock today. We woke up this morning from a hotel, had a nice breakfast (although all of them have been very nice) and headed off for the river. We went white water rafting in a class 3 river which was REALLY fun! Our river guide was Jugo and in my boat were Anju, Emily, Deborah, Paige and Dr. Steinkamp. We splashed and had lots of fun just getting wet! I thought about the jungle the whole time though and how much I missed it. I wondered about the people and what they were doing and if they missed us as much as I missed them. Anyway, then we drove to the zip-line. We zipped through the middle of the jungle and over the river! It was beautiful and such a blast! We saw iguanas, toucans and lots of insects. Our zip-line and raft guides were so sweet and fun! They made the time even more enjoyable! Today Anju and I were assigned a host family in San Jose. Our family is Momma Dora and her daughter, Mile. Both are as sweet as pie! And the lifestyle here is almost 180 degrees different from the jungle! For the first time in a week, I actually feel clean! The humidity and heat is much less here in the city. Anyway, I feel culture shock because I got so used to the reserved lifestyle in the jungle- no hot water, everything needing to be covered (legs and shoulders). But here it’s more like the culture of home. I could definitely get used to both but I loved the jungle culture. I’m so exhausted emotionally and physically from the last week thought. I gave 110% in the jungle and I’m so thankful I did, but… I need rest. I’m only 1/3 of the way through the trip. I pray God continues to change me and I’ll keep praying for my family in the jungle and at home. Good night.
~Angel
May 31, 2011
I’m so happy to be in San Jose with my host family, Momma Dora and Milena! Today I met a sweet boy named Abraham (Dora’s grandson) and his mom, Nolaska. Mile took Anju and I to get our toes and fingernails painted. We were late because Anju and I got lost coming home from the language school. We did training all day at Jeff’s house and it was ok- just everything we’d already learned in class, but a good reminder none-the-less. I’m constantly experiencing culture shock which is funny because I always thought that I wouldn’t. I especially experienced culture shock coming from the jungle to the crazy city. The traffic here is nuts! Pedestrians definitely do not have the right away- no way! Haha. Mostly I miss the jungle so, so much and the people. I think about them all day. I want to be home but also I long to be back in the jungle with my new friends. I pray I see them again this side of heaven. I’m tired everyday and all I want to do is sleep and go back to the jungle. Lord, be with my friends in the Shiroles and Bri-Bri. Keep them safe. And bless my new ones in the city. Tonight I helped Daniel, the son of the woman who did our our nails, with his English. Buenos Noches.
~Angel
June 1, 2011
I’m exhausted. I still miss the jungle and the people from the jungle so I just pray for them each by name. I talked with my family for the first time tonight and it was very refreshing J Sara Jo got a scholarship! So proud of herJ! Today we started our new sites. I’m at the sports site and my group is Diego (the leader- he’s a tico), Jonathan T., Jonathan W., Danny, Gregory, Dominick, and Martha (Marta)!!! We cleaned a school first (the commons) and then of course, we played soccer! Then it started to pour rain which turned the field into a fierce mud fight! Haha. The boys, especially Gregory, covered me in mud! It was like pick on Angel time! Lol. Now I can officially say that I’ve had a legit mud fight in Costa Rica and played soccer in the pouring rain, TWICE! Although it didn’t compare to the jungle soccer experience J Cathy has emailed me 3 times and called me the day we left the jungle. I really appreciated that! She is so sweet! I’m not sure what God’s plan is for the jungle and my place there (or even if I have one) but I know it’s heavily on my heart. So for now I pray, pray, pray. Whatever God’s will is, I will do. I really want to learn more Spanish now too! Well, for now I sleep!
~Angel
Post Mud-Fight (after we attempted to clean ourselves up!)
June 4, 2011
Hola! So, I haven’t written from Costa Rica in a few days because I’ve been so exhausted. Yesterday, I hit a brick wall and couldn’t function anymore- I felt so sick and tired (mentally and physically). I still haven’t stopped thinking about my buddies in the jungle- they have still been on my heart and mind constantly but, it has gotten easier because now I’m sort of missing my family back home. Lol. And, Cathy emailed me again J that made me happy! I should probably talk about my time here in San Jose instead of what’s filled my thoughts. Anyway, so Thursday we went to Las Fuentes with the social services site. That was a rich experience. It was very impoverished. I met many kids- but, I’ll talk about one family in particular so I can remember to pray for them. They were a family of 7-12 kids with a single mom. The reason I say 7-12 kids is because the oldest I met, Allison, told me she was 1 of 7 but, Diego said 12 kids live in the same household because their cousins also live with them. There was Wilson, Carlos, Bailaria, Allison and Gabriel that I met. Allison asked me, “You’re only going to be her for 2 weeks and then you leave like the others, right?” She was so sad. I get the feeling she gets used to groups coming over the summer for 2 weeks and then leaving her after she’d really connected with them. It is so hard because these kids get no attention at home either. Carlos and Wilson literally got in a hair pulling, fist fight over who got to be on my side- they both just wanted me to hold them. In fact they both cried while I held them in my arms after their fight… Wilson’s shoes had holes in them and when we asked if he had another pair he said no L I wanted to give him mine but, we aren’t allowed to… L So hard. The next day we went to the neighborhood where Diego grew up. It was a very rough neighborhood. The morning was so hard because we were supposed to be helping the boys fix up their bikes but because I was a girl they did not want my help. I didn’t really know how to help even if they would have wanted it anyway… L I was pretty sad that I just had to sit around but I guess sometimes it’s good for me not to always do something. Later in the day was amazing though! The kids at this particular sports site have no actual soccer field so the play in the middle of the road. Two boys took me by the hands and led me up the mountain. We played and attempted to talk in Spanish. Then the sweetest most precious kid came from nowhere and stole my heart! His name was Daniel and he was so smart! He knew quite a bit of English too. What a doll! After talking, he insisted on helping me down the mountain by telling me where to step! It was hilarious because he was this little guy but I let him help me J He was such a gentle little guy! He wanted to be on my soccer team and followed me the rest of the day. How adorable! Anyways, if I haven’t mentioned it before… I really want to learn better Spanish! J Some kid grabbed Dr.Steinkamp’s leg and wouldn’t let go because they kids didn’t want us to leave at the end. Then they all tried holding onto us. I don’t even know what to say… I’m awful at telling kids no and I didn’t want to leave them either… Yesterday was my rock bottom day that I won’t write about. But today, we went to the beach and I feel much, much better! We relaxed and tanned. It was great. I even surfed today! It was breath taking. I can’t even describe it! I got up 3 times and almost 4 times. Heather surfed with me and she cracked me up when she sat on the board and waved like a princess as she rode a wave in! Got to love her!!! She is hilarious! We also went to a river, a crocodile river, where I saw at least 15 crocs! So scary! But we were on a bridge so it was all good. But, THEY WERE HUGE! Anyhow, I have to end this so I can get ready for bed. Love.
~Angel
Carlos and I
jump roping with Gabriel and Wilson
The Princess (Heather) on her surf board- I'm at the side (haha)
NU group above the Crocs! :)
June 4, 2011
I’m writing again, one more time today for myself. Today on the way to the beach and actually this entire trip I have been dwelling on how much love and faithfulness God has poured out upon my life. I did NOT want to come to Costa Rica, but I came because I needed it to graduate. And yet, God has given me such a love and passion for these peoples- especially the ones on the reservation. I’m excited to see what God is going to further do in my life through this. I don’t even know what it is- it may be lots of years down the road… I don’t know. He has changed me and changed how I view these people though…
~Angel
June 5, 2011
Today was a nice day in Costa Rica. Our host mom, Dora, and her daughter, Milena, are so sweet to Anju and I. Momma Dora made us pancakes this morning and accidentally gave us BBQ sauce instead of chocolate sauce. I was like, wow- how interesting! Until she realized what she did! I didn’t want to be rude… But we got chocolate sauce instead after she realized it! She has given us some awesome food- fish, LOTS of rice and beans! But amazing variations! Mile and I have sung to Jaci Velasquez in Spanish all week! So fun! I will miss them! Today we had church in Spanish in which we all partook in communion. It was incredible to sing worship in Spanish! I really, really enjoyed that… Then we ate at Jeff’s house and came home early so we could all chill. I got to talk to my family again which was very nice. All of the girls then walked to McDonalds before dinner. Lol. Wow! Now Anju and I are hanging out in Mile’s room and I should mention, I’m still missing the jungle.
~Angel
NU girls after Church
June 7, 2011
I didn’t write about yesterday yet, but yesterday the boys (Gregory, Jake, Jonathan, John, Dominick and Danny), Martha, Diego and I all scrubbed out the boy’s locker rooms where Diego played as a kid. Then we shopped for the rest of the day for our families. That was fun… I absolutely love Costa Rica! Yesterday I was telling Dr. Steinkamp and I’ll soon talk to Jeff about it too- but, I’d like to come study in La Escuela De Idiomas so I can become fluent in Spanish. I’d also like to visit the medical site in the jungle and maybe spend some time again with Curtis and Cathy. And obviously I’d like to come back to San Jose too! J I really have a heart for Los Guidos and Las Fuentes. God is at work! I’m not sure what he has in store but I’m feeling called here, even if for a short time. Money-wise, I have no idea but God is in control, and if He wills it, He will provide as He always has for me. Diego asked me today if I’d come back as an intern for him and I said absolutely if God wants it, I’ll do it in a heartbeat! Today was fun but very hard at the same time. We went to Los Guidos where Diego is from first and we painted the locker rooms we had washed the day before. That was really fun with Martha and the boys! They are pretty funny characters! Then we ate at Diego’s mom’s house and then played sports. My buddy, Daniel, didn’t show up but my other buddy Aaron came (from the week before). He was on my soccer team. What an excellent player!!! Someday I pray he plays soccer professionally for the Lord! J Then, through Danny who speaks fluent Spanish, I got go tell a young lady how special she was in the eyes of the Lord. I’d watched the way she interacted with boys and how they treated her. I felt lead to say something to her. Later her and her boyfriend both wanted pictures with me. They were way cute! I have such a heart for these kids. Not sure if I’m called to Africa any longer like I’ve always thought. I’ll continue to pray about it though. Again, whatever God wants, I’m up for. I do not want to remain unchanged. For the first time in a long time, I feel the Lord’s presence so strongly. I need Him and I long for Him. Oh yeah, and today we had coffee at Ruth’s (Momma Dora’s daughter and Nice, Praise, Emily and Paige’s mom). We had a great time talking about the days we’d spent together! I have to go to sleep now. Night!
~Angel
June 9, 2011
Right now, I’m sitting alone in the Costa Rican airport in San Jose and listening to beautiful live music in the background. I’m looking out (for the last time) at the beautiful scenery that God has blessed Costa Rica with. I’m trying not to cry because deep down I don’t want to leave yet. Lord, thank you for your goodness and your faithfulness. You never leave me or forsake me. Thank you for your presence in my life and for keeping me in good times and bad. I’m going to miss the people of Costa Rica most of all. Lord willing, I’d love to return. Jeff said for only 1,900$ that I could go to the language school and live with momma Dora again! I can’t wait to get home and write to Cathy to see how everyone in the jungle is doing. I miss them all so, so much. A week was not long enough. Someday, we’ll all be together for eternity with our wonderful Maker. I’m sort of sad to write about yesterday. The part of the day where we play games in the field with Diego and the kids- I accidentally hurt a little girl with a disk Frisbee and felt so bad that Martha had to sit out with me. I really hurt her- it cut her gum and teeth pretty bad. So I felt extremely awful for that. Diego was really sweet though. He thanked me for helping him and said she was fine- but I still felt awful. Later in the night, Mile took Anju and I and walked us around. Almost every night, she’s taken us out for something. I can’t wait to know Spanish! J God is good! I get it, Lord. Thank you for speaking to me! I really don’t want to go home… I can’t wait to go back to the jungle! I want to listen to my Spanish Jaci V. CD that Mile made me and read my Spanish bible. I think I’ll write a letter to Cathy before reading my FHCRC internship articles. I love the Lord more than life. And I’m so thankful for all the things He spoke to me through- people, circumstances and through our daily devotionals! I have to get on the plane now and head home for my baby sister’s graduation! Adios, Costa Rica!
~Angel
My Last Night- NU girls and Jeff
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