First things first- THANK YOU to everyone who has prayed and is praying. Your prayers are felt here and God is working. He has opened some beautiful doors to share His gospel with the people here and He has strengthened my spirit, which I know is in part due to the prayers of the Body. I pray for you all as well and trust that God is working where you are. That is the absolute beauty of the body of Christ, no matter where we are, we are still able to function when we answer the call to "spur one another one towards love and good works" and pray.
And on to the recent news here...
We spent last weekend in Tortuguero, an island about four hours from here. Because it's an island, we had to take a boat to get there and I have never experienced anything quite like it. There are no vehicles in Tortuguero, only bicycles, and so the boat we took was only transporting people... it was so interesting. After about an hour and 20 minutes we got there and it was as though we had stepped into yet another world. Imagine a place with no automobiles, lots of adorable little children running around, beach, river, and turtles. Friday night we went with a guide to beach to "try" to see some turtles. I was told by my friends that had been there before that this activity was a waste of time because they didn't see any turtles... however, God blessed us with the gift of being able to see a huge momma turtle laying her eggs. It was absolutely fascinating. We had to wait until she had created her nest, because as soon as the turtles begin to lay their eggs, they go into a trance and are not disturbed by any outside noise or noisy white people :] haha. We also got to see another turtle return to the ocean after laying her eggs, and the grandeur of such a huge creature being swallowed back up into the ocean was remarkable.
After such an evening, I was even more in awe of the work of the Lord. The very same God that created each of us, created those beautiful sea turtles and He displays His glory through them.
Saturday we spent the day hanging out, having a "Pura Vida" day as well call it. We decided that we would make lunch together instead of going out to eat somewhere, and so Cole, Linds and I hit up the grocery store and bought stuff to make our very own tortillas and Pico de Gallo. Using corn flower, Cole and I made hand made tortillas while Lindsay cut up tomatoes, cilantro and lime for the Pico de Gallo. We also love avocado and so you can bet we had some of those too. In the end, we more than enjoyed a homemade lunch, using our "tico" knowledge of their food... it was delicious and one of the highlights of the weekend. We spent the rest of the day napping and then walking through all of the little stores there. The word in Costa Rica for "stuff" is "chunche" and so we call all the stores "chunche stores" because none of them seem to be selling anything specific, just stuff!
Sunday morning we went to breakfast and as we sat down to eat, we experienced a tremendous Costa Rican rainstorm. It was beautiful and entertaining to watch people running through the rain, until it was our turn to go back to the cabins where we were staying... needless to say, with a 4 hour bus ride in front of us, "soakin' wet" was the LAST thing I wanted to be, and so Cole ran the grocery store and bought big trash bags which my friend Franka and I put over our heads and made a dash for it. (see my current blog picture for a good laugh)
God also blessed us with a beautiful new friend in a two year old boy named Joshua. We ate two meals in the restaurant that his family owns, and he accompanied us both times, making himself at home at our table and adding an immense of joy to our hearts. He has the tiniest most adorable little voice, and the first night he had a toy Pinochio that was attached to a long spring and he was bouncing it around... hours of endless fun for such a child. Then the second time we at with him, he pretend that his hands were little ants walking on the table. We laughed and laughed and laughed. What a precious child! God certainly reminded me of what it means to have a child like faith, because without even knowing it, that little boy blessed our lives, as we are called to live in such a way that automatically blesses others.
The weekend in total was fabulous, Glory to God.
This week has also been interesting. We had so say goodbye to Cole for a couple of days on Monday, as he experienced a death in his family and had to go back to the States. Please remember the Altizer family this week. The Lord is faithful and true and losing someone you love is difficult.
Also, Monday night, Lindsay, Rebecca (my friend from CA) and I had a girls night out. We spent the evening in the mall in Heredia and enjoyed some much needed time of talking and laughing. I am blessed to have Rebecca here and it's like having a sister living in my house. I can see how God ordained our friendship and there are days where loneliness might get the best of me if I didn't have her to talk to. Thank you God for wonderful (new) friends!
Otherwise the week has been really calm and I've had some beautiful time with my family. Rebecca and I took the little kids to the pool on Tuesday afternoon, in the sweltering heat and had a great time. Volunteer work on Wednesday morning was great and I learned how to make Empanadas, my new favorite food here. SOOOO simple! I also got to know some of the elderly folks better and I am loving more than anything forming relationships with these precious people. It was my fourth week there and I'm really learning this place, thank you, Lord!
Last night we went out to some of the bars here with Lindsay and one of Rebecca's friends and enjoyed just hanging out. It was my first experience in a Costa Rican "bar", a place I've always been hesitant to be in, firstly because lots of people with lots of alcohol makes me uncomfortable and secondly because I don't drink. But one of the things that I have been shown is that to truly get to know some of these people here, you have to go to their comfort zone, and that is how God sometimes opens doors to share HIS story. I felt like we got to experience a little bit more of Costa Rica and really was lots of fun.
This morning I enjoyed my favorite breakfast of Gallo Pinto (rice and beans cooked together, yum!) with scrambled eggs, tortillas and natilla (like sour cream), with Abuelo and Abuela. We sat around and talked about food and Denny's restaurants. ha. It was great. Then Lindsay and I went to work at the Comedor and sorted recycling for a couple of hours.
My love for Costa Rica is growing... and my faith is being transformed and renewed. The one thing that is inevitable is growth. It would be impossible for me to be here and not grow spiritually, emotionally, (unfortunately not getting taller... haha), and mentally. This is a challenge and a test and God is molding me to His image!
be blessed today dear friends! Christ be with you, and may His love surround and protect your hearts as your follow Him. :]
you don't know how happy it makes me to know you are beginning to love that place as much as i do!!! goodness i wish i could be there with y'all, but I am beyond happy that you get to have this experience and they get to know a wonderful girl in the process!
ReplyDeleteLucita,
ReplyDeleteI think that if all the growth you are experiencing could be seen by others, you'd be at least 20 feet tall!