Random acts of kindness.

Lately God has put on my heart to go above and beyond the norm and to look for opportunities that he gives us daily. Last week there was an elderly lady limping her way back home with a heavy load of groceries.  I offered to carry her things home and after we arrived at her house she invited me in. When I saw her old run down little house I asked if  she lived alone. We chatted about 30 min.  She was a widow who just needed company and some encouragement to hang on to her faith and a reminder of Jesus’ love.

Mom helping YWAM missions group 

Cornelio helping a man off the street 

Jorge is in his 60’s and has been helping us off and on. Many people won’t give him work because he is half crippled and has a drinking problem. But after we hired him to help with the apartment, Cornelio said if he come on time everyday that we would feed him breakfast and lunch along with his pay. He came to work everyday on time and sober.  He use to beg for coffee and sugar when we passed by on the road .One day he brought a bag of lemons from his tree and asked if we could trade them for a bag sugar. He not only learned work ethic, but also the value of  being resourceful.  

Cornelio saved a little piggy on our walk back home the other day. It came out of nowhere and was being bitten and chased by 2 dogs. After Cornelio calmed it down he took the abandoned piglet home with us. Logan and Cornleio made him a little house and we are hoping to get more pigs to raise with him.

These were just good reminders for me to go out and do the random acts of kindness. Even the smallest things are important to God. When we make the extra effort, God blesses our lives and the lives of others!

Cori's Update: A Month of Visitors!

Hello everyone. I know, it's been way too long and I should've updated a month ago, but I didn't. And I'm here now, so there you have it. :-)

Where did I leave off? Colter went home on January 15th, and then my parents came down January 25th-Feb 1st. It was wonderful to see my mom and dad, and to share Costa Rica with them! Aside from a Cancun vacation several years ago, this was their first trip to Central America, and they enjoyed it very much. Mom was gracious enough to bring some hearty, American germs with her (she was sick when they got here) and she shared them around with both Logan and I. That part wasn't fun. But the rest of the time was. We took a day trip to the Caribbean coast, which meant getting up and leaving my house at 3:30am, driving for about 5.5 hours, snorkeling and swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea for about 6 hours and enjoying a fabulous seafood lunch, and then driving another 6 hours or so to get home, finally ending up in bed around 10pm. It was a LONG day, but very enjoyable, and we were so thankful to Cornelio for being our chauffeur so we didn't have to take the bus!! Oh, and we saw a couple cute lil' monkeys in some trees at the beach too. Love it! My parents and I also spent an afternoon shopping at Mercado Central in San Jose, which is a huge market with everything from restaurants to souvenirs to raw meat and veggies and clothing. They picked up some good stuff to take home, and got a taste of the city as well (not that it's that different from any other city).

My friend, Jessica, was supposed to arrive on January 30th, but her flight got delayed by AN ENTIRE DAY!!! She flew in without incident on the 31st, and we loaded up in the car the next morning to get my parents to the airport to go home, and us to the bus station for a lil' jaunt to Nicaragua. Logan and I have to leave the country every 90 days on our tourist visas, so I'd very precisely counted our days here and established that we need to be out of the country from Feb 1st through Feb 6th to have exactly 90 days in country on either side of that trip. We decided to go to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua solely because it is the closest place to get to. Logan isn't fond of bus rides (not that he's every really taken them before this) and 7 hours sounded like an eternity to him, but it was our best option. So we loaded up the car with Cornelio driving, Logan up front, me, Jessica, and my dad in the back seat, and my mom in the trunk, with our bags tied to the roof. (Thanks, Mom, for riding in the trunk!!!) Beverly Hillbillies, anyone? Of course, when we got to the bus station in San Jose, we found out that the bus to Nicaragua was sold out!!! For lack of other options, we booked tickets for Monday, Feb 3rd, prayed that no one would notice that we'd been in the country a couple of days too long, and headed to the airport to drop off my parents. They got all checked in uneventfully, and we headed back to Palmichal.

Logan, who was still trying to get over Mom's friendly sickness, was thrilled to not have to spend the day on a bus, but the real treat was getting to watch the Superbowl from the comfort of Cailene's couch instead of at a restaurant or bar in Nicaragua! Yes, we watched the whole game, though it wasn't much of a game, was it? In case you're wondering, the commentary was all in Spanish, and no, we didn't get any of the good commercials. We just got the usual Costa Rican commercials, and yes, it was slightly disappointing. :-) And we loved having traditional football food - chips and guacamole, homemade caramel corn, and homemade pizza. Yum!!

Monday, Feb 3rd, began our jaunt to Nicaragua. We took the bus from Palmichal to San Jose, walked a few blocks to the Tica Bus station, sat around for a couple hours, then got comfy on the bus for our 7 hour ride to San Juan del Sur. It took 5 hours to get to the border, a solid hour and a half there, then another 30-45 min to Rivas, where we got off Tica Bus. It was about 630pm at this point, and we ended up taking a taxi for $23 to San Juan del Sur, which was about 30 minutes away. Nicaragua uses both the Dollar and the Cordoba for currency, but since we hadn't changed any money at the border (bad exchange rates) all we had was the $23 in Jessica's wallet. We settled in at Hostal Amelia, and headed to an ATM to get some cash. Of course, even though I told my bank I was going to be in Nicaragua, due to the massive fraud stuff with Target and all recently, they blocked my card. Luckily, Jessica was able to pull out enough money to get us through until I could talk to the bank and get it all fixed, so we didn't have any problems. San Juan del Sur is a little beach town that in the last few years has gotten very touristy. It's nestled on a cute little bay and has some amazing seafood ($6 lobster dinner = YUM!!!), but you have to take a shuttle to any of the beaches. We spent most of one day at Playa Maderas (playa means beach), which was absolutely beautiful. We played in the water, enjoyed fish tacos for lunch, walked on the beach, and found a cozy lil' spot under some trees where we could keep Jessica's tender, western-Washington skin out of the brutally intense sun. :-) After a few minutes under the trees, we realized the ground was, well, moving. It was covered with tiny hermit crabs!!! So we entertained ourselves by building corrals for them and watching them climb out, having races, and trying to find the biggest/prettiest ones. The next day we went on a zip-line canopy tour. It was really fun, and I saw 3 monkeys from one of the lines (of course, neither Jessica nor Logan saw them). We did some souvenir shopping, and I purchased a hammock chair and a big, lovely painting from a street vendor. Jessica also got a painting, which will be a great memory/souvenir. We left San Juan del Sur at 6:30am, sat in Rivas for a couple hours, then started the 7 hour bus ride back to San Jose. Then we got to the border. We sat in line for Costa Rican immigration for what felt like forever, and then when we got to the front, the guy said he needed our itinerary. Of course, I didn't have a copy of our itinerary showing when we were leaving the country. He wouldn't let us in the country without it. So I ran all over the border area begging people for a computer and praying that I'd be able to access my email and print the needed info. Thankfully, I found a place and the guy graciously let me use his computer and printer for free with minimal begging. I ran back past our bus (which was full of everyone waiting just for us) and into the customs area, where I shoved my way back to the front of the line and gave the man the desired info. It only took about 30 seconds for him to realize who I was and what I was talking about. He finally stamped our passports and Logan and I hurried to the bus. Poor Jessica sat on the bus watching the driver come back and count people as the seats filled up until ours were the only empty ones. When he looked at her and pointed at the seats, she said, "Mis amigos?" and hoped they wouldn't leave without us. :-) Luckily they didn't, and off we went. We took the slow route back to San Jose, meaning we didn't get there until about 6:00pm! We got on the bus at 9am. Ugh. Luckily, we walked to the other bus station and were able to get straight on a bus for Palmichal, getting home here about 8:30pm. Long day, but a fun trip and it was GREAT to be home.

Jessica and I also took a trip to Tortuguero, which is the Costa Rican version of Stehekin. We took 3 different buses, then an hour boat ride and arrived on a narrow, little island in the northeast corner of the country. We could see the roiling ocean surf from our bedroom door at the hostel. Definitely not a good swimming beach, but it's famous as a place where sea turtles lay their eggs. Of course, we were there when there were no turtles at all (not the right season) but between taking a canoe tour of the surrounding waterways and walking through the national park, we saw two different kinds of monkeys, lots of nasty spiders and bugs, beautiful butterflies, several different lizards (including iguanas and the 'Jesus Christ' lizards - google it if that means nothing to you), some very colorful frogs and caterpillars (mostly poisonous), a toucan, a snake, and a crocodile. On our way home from Tortuguero, we headed for the Irazu Volcano. After getting all the way to Cartago, we missed the bus by 4 minutes. Of all times for something here to be on time, that way what it had to be. Sigh. So we decided to just get some lunch and then come home a day earlier than planned. It was still a fun trip despite the failed volcano visit attempt.

We spent Jessica's last few days here sharing the germs we'd all enjoyed from my mom (yes, we sent Jess home sick) and seeing some of the local cool sights: a couple of waterfalls, Cerro Pinto (which is a nearby mountain top from which you can see both the San Jose valley as well as the area where we live and more), and swimming with the dogs at a nearby swimming hole. So we sent Jessica home with some great memories, some awesome souvenirs, and a love respiratory infection. :-)

Construction has been plugging right along, and we are happy to report that the porch is back and more beautiful than ever!!! The new tile floor on the deck is beautiful, and Logan and Cornelio have been welding the framing/bracing for the roof over the last couple of days. We should have it on by the end of the week if all goes well. The apartment below the porch has it's last wall framed, and we have most of the supplies to finish it (tile, toilet, sink, etc). It's a slow process but it's coming along.

School started on Feb 1st, and we're happy to report that the school has a nice crop of new students, in addition to lots of returning students. Bonnie and I are substituting as needed so that Cornelio can keep working on the porch and the apartment with Logan, and we're getting back into a nice routine.

Cailene and I have started going to the local gym instead of the pool for this month, and it's great to be running, biking, and lifting weights more regularly.

Please be in prayer for us regarding the road by which Cailene and Cornelio's house is accessed. One neighbor is trying to close the road because he thinks it is his property and doesn't like the traffic. It's a messy situation and looks like it will take some serious time and money to resolve, so be in prayer that everyone stays calm and that things progress quickly to get it resolved. Also, Cailene's knee, which she hurt a good month ago or so, is improving, but pray that it continues to get better quickly and she can keep doing the things we want to do. Logan and I have just under 10 weeks left in Costa Rica. I can't believe time is going so quickly, even though I knew it would fly by. Pray that we enjoy the rest of our time here and use it well.

Sorry I don't have any pictures…I know that what most of you want anyway. I didn't take any in Nicaragua or Tortuguero cuz' Jessica had her nice camera. Hopefully I'll be able to get some from her in the next couple weeks and can post them next time!!!

Great start to a new year!

This past month has been a great start to the new year. Cornelio and I are helping lead worship at church. It is great to have Cori joining us. I have been teaching Sunday school twice a month and growing in Spanish because of it. Some of the VBS songs I have translated to teach the kids at church and it is fulfilling to see how they absorb everything.

Leading worship

Sunday school kids sharing a song with puppets 

Pablo is our friend who was a strong Buddhist before Cornelio started witnessing to him. After 4 months Pablo was more interested in Christianity. Now he often comes to church with us! Mom gave him his first Bible last week.  (We gave him one in English too so he can practice.) We are praising God for Pablo’s new steps in faith!  

Mom giving Pablo his first Bible.

House to house advertising went well this year and glory to God we have more students for both our music and  English programs. Three students graduated last year able to clearly communicate in English. We look forward to keeping in contact of them and seeing how they use their English for themselves as well as encouraging and helping others. Mom went to Christian's public school graduation. He was so happy to have her support.

Advertising for our school

Christian graduating from high school and our English program

1 Peter 3:15

 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Cori's Update: Vacation, vacation, vacation, and a lil' bit of home improvement

Apparently, I'm incapable of blogging more than every 2-3 weeks. Sorry. And lots of people have been asking for more pictures, so here's the story. I don't take pictures. Yes, I have a camera here. Yes, Logan has his itouch here. Yes, we all have phones that take pictures. No, I don't take pictures. That said, between the 5 of us, we do have several pictures, so I'll try to throw a bunch of them into this post.

We are still on 'summer' vacation, so there isn't much to report regarding the school. Cailene, Bonnie, and I have been sorting papers and files, creating and modifying worksheets, and just generally getting organized for the coming year. Both the Tabarcia and Palmichal classrooms have been cleaned, and, after digging through several tubs of stored random school stuff, we are getting some new books, games, and posters into the classrooms. Classes start the first week of February, and there are several students who want to take classes but can't afford it. If you're interested in sponsoring a student, please check out the official website (cgccostarica.com).

While we've been taking it pretty easy and enjoying places like the beach and the river, we've also been working on the construction of Bonnie's apartment. It's official now: the apartment is going below Cailene and Cornelio's porch. There will also be extra garage space for 2 or 3 cars below the porch, which will be great for parties and group events. After our beach trip, the guys really buckled down and put in a few long, hot days of construction work. The walls are now completed, the support beams for the porch are being welded together, and as I type, the guys are putting in the septic tank (not quite a US-style tank, but still functional). We don't have any predicted finish date, but progress is being made, which is encouraging. It will be nice to get the porch back, and to have more usable space in general.

Logan's brother, Colter, just left this morning after spending 2 weeks with us. He arrived at 645am on New Year's Day (nobody got much sleep on New Year's Eve...), and spent a couple days here in Palmichal before we headed to the beach at Jaco. For lack of space in the car, Bonnie stayed behind and enjoyed a 'girl's weekend' with a couple of her good friends. They had great fellowship and opened doors to lots of new experiences for one of the ladies. The rest of us had a wonderful time at the beach. Logan and Colter took an Open Water Scuba Diving Certification course (and even passed!), which allows them to now scuba dive without an instructor. They did 4 dives in the ocean and several pool sessions over 3 days. Cailene and Cornelio did a Discover Scuba Diving program, which was one pool session and 2 ocean dives. We don't have any underwater pictures, but it sounds like the saw some cool stuff. I know my limits and passed on the scuba diving. See, you have to take a lil' boat a decent distance out into the ocean, and then you're out there for a few hours. I get motion sick. Thus, small boat + ocean + me = really bad idea. After their ocean dives, they all said it was good that I didn't come along, because Cailene and Cornelio both got pretty sick on the boat. I spent my time and money in a much more intense pastime: surfing. I took a lesson one day and just rented a board the next, and had a fabulous time beginning my professional surfing career. :-) By the time our 3 days were up, all 3 boys thought they were dying of heat stroke and couldn't wait to get back to the cooler mountain air. Not gonna lie, it was pretty toasty.

Bonnie and I spent a day with Lidieth and her friend, Isobel, learning how to make tamales. It was an all day process (started at 7am and finished about 3pm), but they were delicious! Pictures below.

Not a whole lot else to report. Bonnie, Cailene and I are still swimming regularly, and working out here at the house on non-swimming days. We try to run a couple days a week (I'm determined to convince Cailene to like running!) and we do some strength circuits a couple days a week as well. It is fabulous to have people to workout with again and I'm really going to miss it when we go home!!! Speaking of home...can't believe we are approaching our 3 month mark. Time flies!

Getting perms!

Rocky hiding in the shower during fireworks.

Prepping for the backflip!

Jumping off the rock.

Even the girls jump off the rock!

Floating the river at the swimming hole.

Finished perms and Logan's new motorcycle...

Unloading block for construction.

Ready, set, scuba!

Stoked about diving!

Never looked better!

First breaths under water.

Cailene rockin' the wave!

Cori surfin' in Jaco.

Baby gecko that incubated and hatched on Cailene's nightstand.

Isobel burning the banana leaves to clean/prep them for tamales.

Straining the masa.

Stirring the masa (it really was tiring!)

Making tortillas for lunch while making tamales.

Slicing veggies and washing banana leaves for tamales.

Cori's Update: No More Teachers, No More Books...

It's summer vacation!!! Cailene and Cornelio wrapped up their school year on December 21st by hosting an end of the year party/presentation for the school. Of the 70 students who attend the school, approximately 25 came and participated. We baked yummy cinnamon rolls, cheese bread, and sugar cookies (very colorfully decorated by Meredith and Jesus, a niece and nephew) and had a great time. The kids had learned a couple Christmas songs in English, and sang them for their parents at the presentation, and got certificates for course completions as well. We weren't bummed by the low attendance...public schools finished up in early December, and lots of families have already started their vacation plans. Additionally, it is hard to get commitment from people for such events, and they almost never come on time. Example: one student arrived just as the entire program was finishing. She was very disappointed to not get to perform her song for her mother, since she had been practicing hard at home, so we set her up for a lil' mini performance on her own, which filled that gap at least a little bit. But all was well, and vacation is now in full swing.

Students receiving their course completion certificates.

Cailene, Bonnie, and I took a day and went to San Jose to go shopping with one of Cailene's classmates from the university, Amelia. We took the bus to avoid the cost of gas and parking issues, which should have taken about an hour or a lil' more than. Well, for those who don't know me, I get carsick. And here in Costa Rica, I'm getting more carsick than I pretty much ever have before. The roads are really twisty, it's usually hot, and drivers aren't exactly slow and steady. By the time we got halfway, I was like, "Um, I need to get off this bus..." So we took a break...for about 40 minutes. We watched 2 buses go by before I finally felt solid enough to get back on. The rest of the trip is luckily the straighter half, and I made a stronger point of being FRONT and CENTER where I can see the road and the airflow is good. Once we made it to San Jose, we had a great time shopping at a huge second-hand store and enjoyed lunch at Mercado Central, which is a big market with food and gifts and restaurants and basically everything you could imagine. It was a good day and I'm feeling better and better about getting around places on my own.

View down and into the property from the back door.

Construction got underway at Cailene and Cornelio's house shortly after my last update. In the last 2 weeks, the porch was taken apart and stacked beside the house, a backhoe came and dug out somewhere around 30 cubic meters of dirt, and some supplies have been delivered to start construction on the 2 walls that we are going to build. The original plan was to put a garage and an apartment for Bonnie in that space, but, in typical Costa Rican fashion, it's taking longer than expected, and plans for the apartment aren't set in stone. Space at the house here feels much smaller and more limited, especially with the dining table in the garage, right beside the weight set and the disassembled porch, but we're surviving. The dogs aren't thrilled with it either, since their space was cut in half, but Eros had no problem dashing THROUGH the house (they're not allowed inside) and LEAPING right out the back door into oblivion in pursuit of a dog they particularly hate. It's probably a 12-foot drop from the door down to the newly excavated dirt, but he hit the ground running without so much as a stumble or a yip and off he went. Much to our surprise, he didn't attack the hated dog, just sniffed it and then came running when Cailene called. What a good boy!

View from the bottom corner of the driveway to the back door.

Christmas was a fabulous day for us. We drove to Rio Laguna (the river), which is about an hour from here, and spent most of the day there. It is a beautiful spot, and the water runs nice and clear. There is a good sized (50x50ft) swimming hole that's probably 12-14ft deep, and it's clear and cool and has a lil' waterfall flowing into it, as well as a couple lil' hot-tub sized pools and small falls above it. We brought a big inner tube, and spent the day getting tan and playing in the water. Logan and Cornelio went on an iguana hunt, but their pursuit was futile and they came back empty-handed. Luckily, us girls packed a lunch as a backup plan. :-)

 <----
Cailene and Cornelio
managed to both stand up on the tube for a few precious seconds.

                        ---->
There were valiant
attempts made by others (my head, the
feet belong to Cailene and Bonnie).

This was Cornelio standing on the tube and diving/jumping off of it.

Bonnie is currently on a 3-day tour to Panama with her friend, Lidiette. American 'tourists' in Costa Rica don't need a visa, but you can only stay in the country for 90 days at a time, then you have to leave the country for 72 hours before you get another 90 days. Her time was about up, so she and Lidiette found a bus tour to a beach area in Panama just across the border. There's snorkeling and a nice hotel and other tourist activities, so I'm sure they're having a great time. Logan and I will be out of the country February 1st-6th, but we are going to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. More on that in Feb, of course. :-)

Things we're thankful for: Cailene finished her classes at the university, and is all set to graduate in February. It's been a long road for her, and she's pretty excited to not have to drive the 30 min to Puriscal two or three times a week anymore. The construction here has gone smoothly thus far, with all the resources needed being accessible and provided. The weather has also been great for the project. We are loving our lap swims at the pool in San Bosco. Great exercise and great fun. Colter (Logan's brother) arrives for a 2-week visit on January 1st, and then my parents arrive for their week in Costa Rica on January 25th.

We live way down in the valley behind us that's all misty.

Can't believe we've been here for just a few days shy of 2 months already! Only 4 months left! While I can easily communicate with people and get around on my own, the reality of only 4 more months makes me want to STUDY Spanish a little more so I can be more fluent before we leave. Logan's Spanish is, well, there...he's mastered the use of 'Que Mob!', which is the equivalent of "Hey dude!!!" :-) And lastly, we took a lil' jaunty ride to the wind turbines that we can see from our house. It's a nice drive up a very smooth, well-maintained (do you hear the sarcasm here???) dirt road, and there are fabulous views of both our side of the mountain, as well as the entire San Jose valley. Of course, as soon as we got there, the clouds rolled in and blocked the view, but it was still a fun, refreshing ride. The car only over-heated once, and we only got sprinkled on for a few minutes. And yes, it was chilly (hence, the blanket)!!!!
 

<----Aren't they so cute???

 

<----The 'Trusty Tracker' cooling down at the top of the mountains. We took the top off cuz' it was SUPER hot when we were getting ready to go. Then it got cloudy and chilly, but at least Cailene and I didn't hit our heads in the back going over bumps! Plus the extra airflow really helps the carsick issue!!!




That's about it. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and has a fabulous New Year's!!!