the rainforest.
Saturday morning Cole, Lindsay and I met at my house at 5:15 am to catch 3 buses with our friend Eliecer who works with Cole, to Sarapiqui a small little place in the southern part of the country. We arrived there mid morning and bought groceries then headed out the a Refuge, in the middle of the rainforest.
This place is like nothing else I've seen in real life. It's a two story open style house of sorts, with the traditional stove and everything is made of wood. This is Costa Rica. It literally sits smack in the middle of the rainforest, surrounded by ever kind of wildlife you can imagine. On the second level are rooms with bunkbeds, but everything is open to the air, the bugs and everything.
Saturday day we made lunch and then spent some time relaxing after the almost hour walk to get to the place, carrying really heavy bags of groceries.
The man who built this place is Joani, the Costa Rican version of a mountain man... except he's like "rainforest man". The spirit in this man is absolutely incredible. He lives there alone and takes care of the forest. He can tell you the call of every bird, frog, animal, tree species, and everything. But the most unique thing about him is his incredible conviction for taking care of the earth- his spirit is connected to everything he lives with and they live with the mindset that every resource is usable to it's fullest extent. Waste not, want not. They use every little last bit of what they have, and waste nothing. Fruit and vegetable rinds are organic and get thrown back into the words to be eaten by the animals and the birds... bags and bottles are reused, and there is one light bulb in the place- and candles.
Can you imagine what our world would look like if we all lived in a way that conserved the earth and all the resources we have been given?
Saturday night we took a little walk... to go fishing. We ended up in the area that looked like a fairy tale... lots of little colored trees planted nicely, a fishing pond, a hillside pasture of cows and another outdoor kitchen, clean as it could be, with costa rican women preparing dinner. It was wild. We used coke bottle as fishing rods to catch the tilapia living in the pond, to eat for dinner. After the sun went down, and we'd been fishing for hours, Eliecer came to get us to eat dinner and I cast my line one more time... and I caught a fish. It was awesome.
If you've never had TRULY fresh, fried fish before, you won't understand how delicious this was, especially in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest, prepared by Costa Rican women that were born with a perfect sense for cooking. It was SOOO good. Fried tilapia, fresh salad, platanos and yuca. Yum! We sat after dinner and talked for a long time with Joani, his brother Henri and Eliecer, about protecting resources and about God. It is incredible to me how the Lord just opens door to share His Word and to share our stories. He certainly was working.
We spent the night just hanging out and talking and then off to bed... with bats and cockroaches the size of our hands. wow. It is definitely an adventure!
Sunday morning we got up, fixed breakfast and then headed into the forest for a hike of sorts. It was breathtaking. There is no way to describe how beautiful and green everything is and how REAL it is. You are really in the rainforest. wow. It's always raining there and so mud is inevitable, and we had a great time laughing as we all kept sliding. You HAVE to wear mud boots here. Have to. and we did. The Sarapiqui River runs through the forest and it's beautiful. After a couple hours of hiking and adventuring, we headed back to camp, grabbed some kayaks and went back down to the river.
Needless to say, I'm not the worlds best kayaker... but we laughed so hard that the whole experience was worth it. Trying to paddle up-stream is not exactly my forte. We floated down the river a-ways, but Cole was too big for his kayak and was loosing circulation in his legs, and none of us were crazy about the idea of paddling all the way back up-stream, so we stopped to pull the kayaks out. However, this was a different place from where we entered the water, with a very steep and muddy slope. We were laughing so hard as we each tried to climb up and kept sliding right back down the slope, it was great, and our socks are ruined forever. Haha.
Lindsay and I were carrying one kayak together, Eliecer had the two smallest one, and Cole was pulling his, and it was like one steep hill after another, with so much mud, and people slipping... what a sight! But somehow here in Costa Rica, everything always works out and we got back to camp in no time- covered in mud. We washed everything then started making lunch and were joined by Joani and a couple of his friends. it was a great time- costa rican food, music and people. All in all we saw poison dart frogs, green tree frogs, monkeys and tons of birds. It was unreal.
The reality is that everyday is a gift- a precious opportunity to share everything that we have, for the Glory of God, because HE alone deserves our very best.
These are people I will never forget- unbreakable bonds, and a place that I will be returning to someday. Praise God for His glorious creation and how we are a part of it... we need to start taking better care of it though.
Think today about the things you use on a regular basis-
water
electricity/ energy
packaging
paper
food
cleaning products
clothing/ linens
How can we live in a way that takes care of the things we have and doesn't completely waste them? Ultimately, what we do today affects the rest of the world for the rest of eternity- it all builds on itself. Take fewer showers, use less toilet paper, eat more vegetables and buy fewer pre-packaged products (they're bad for you anyway!). Drink water instead of buying bottled drinks- and use a re-usable water bottle instead of always buying one. When you travel- take things with you like a fork and spoon and biodegradable soap.
Be conscious of the world around you, and thankful for all that we have.
Praise God from whom all blessings truly flow.
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