rain, rain, go away...

Today was a FULL day.  Mondays we always have meetings at the office, and today was no exception.  We have WyldLife camp this weekend (the middle school version of Young Life) and so today’s meeting was jam-packed with details and prep for camp!

I will be taking a couple high schoolers with me and will be acting as a Work Crew boss.   We will be serving the campers by helping with food prep, setting tables, doing dishes, cleaning, running music and supplies for Club...it’s going to be busy but it’s going to be so great!!  Excited to spend a whole weekend with a hand full of high school friends, serving alongside them!

A few prayer requests for camp:

• Protection and safety.  We will be traveling in buses 2 hours outside the city to and from camp.  We also have some kids with some pretty serious health issues/food allergies.
• For our speaker Rich Ward.  That Christ would give him words that would resonate with these campers and Work Crew kids.
• For our leaders.  For deep sleep and rest these final days leading up to camp.  Specifically for Jason and Bradyn who will be leading cabins AND doing program.
• For FUN and energy and adventure at camp!  That kid’s see and experience the Gospel this weekend!

And a Monday wouldn’t be complete without a trek back across town in the pouring rain (the YL office is on the opposite side of San Jose from my house).  We equate the mile walk from one side of Avenida Central to the other as a game of Umbrella Frogger.  You are constantly punching air, moving your umbrella up, over, to the side, between light posts, trying not to hit the other hundreds of people on the street with their own 5-foot-umbrella radius around them.  Lucky for us...rainy season is almost over!!

visitors are the best!

Look who’s in Costa Rica!!!  Sarah, so glad you’re official PA status landed you in Nica/CR for a couple weeks!!  Our beach plans folded because of the weather.  Then I had this great plan to show her all my favorite spots downtown:  Kalu Cafe, Jungle Fruit, David our jewelry friend at the Artisan Market, spice ice cream at the Central Market...Well that plan folded, too, because it was a Sunday and pretty much everything down there was closed.  Boo, not my best performance as tour guide.

But, we still had fun!  Had some fancy coffees at the National Theater (following our fancy breakfast at Taco Bell...you’re not missing anything in the States on that one...it wasn’t good).  Then we headed to Avenida Escazu and ate lunch at Bulali, this sweet cafe with swings!  Yes, SWINGS at the table!!

Yes, we’re matching.

So great to see you, Sar!  Hope you enjoyed your time in the Rica!  See you at Christmas!!

karaoke night

We came back from Nica, had our taxi driver swing us by Sisso to pick up the dinner we had called ahead to order, and went straight to our YL Hangout:  Karaoke Night!  It was so fun!!  The kids LOVED it!   Many of them came because it was karaoke, which was awesome!  We have some super talented high school friends and it was fun seeing them embrace their talents.  You could tell that they felt loved having a place to perform in front of their peers and an encouraging audience.  A couple of our kids even sang songs in Japanese!  It was so cool and a great reminder of how unique the international community is!

#puranica

I got back from the States Monday night at 8:30 and left for Nicaragua Tuesday morning at 4:45am for our visa trip!  Craziness!!  In Costa Rica you receive a visitors visa is valid for 90 days.  Since we are here for more than 90 days, we have to leave the country for 72 hours to renew our visas.  I technically didn’t have to go on this because I had been in the States for 3 nights, but the other interns needed to renew theirs so I went along for the adventure!  And what adventures we had!!  #puranica

Adventure 1:  The eleven hour bus ride to Managua, Nicaragua.  We sat in traffic for over an hour because there was an accident blocking the road.  But, good news, the driver put in Top Gun and we watched pretty much the whole thing before we started moving again.  Luckily, it was smooth sailing from there, including the border!

My go-to bus snack.
Platano chips and a Diet Coke.

Adventure 2:  Riding in the back of a pick-up truck from Managua to León.  Yep, the picture you have in your head is correct.  Four girls and our luggage in the cab of a pick-up.  For two hours!!  Now just add pouring rain and the four of us huddling under a plastic tarp for an hour, clenching it tightly so it wouldn’t blow away!  Haha, quite the experience!  Definitely not what we were expecting, but still grateful for Juan Carlos and Juan Carlos driving us safely to León.

Adventure 3:  Volcano Boarding.  That’s right, we wore bright orange jumpsuits and rode pieces of modified plywood down the side of a huge volcano!  Unlike the previous two, this adventure was planed.  The scenery around Cerro Negro was incredible!!  It looked fake.  Cerro Negro is an active volcano and experts predict it will erupt again at any time.  It’s crazy.  If you “dig” down 1cm at the top and feel the ground, it’s hot!

Adventure 4:  The behind the scenes, roof-top tour of the Cathedral in León.  The normal roof-top lookout was closed because they are repainting the church, but somehow we found someone to take us to the top.  We were literally walking on the roof of the church.  And not the part with the nice little railing.  I never felt like we were going to fall off, but it was very obvious that’s not where they normally let people go.  Regardless, glad we found a way up because the views were gorgeous!  360 degrees of the city and surrounding areas!

 


I love that for the rest of my life, I will laugh when I think about the events of this trip!  Despite its craziness, it was actually quite restful and I am grateful for that.  We have one week until WyldLife (YL for middle schoolers) camp, so we can all use a little rest!

#bretwedding

I went back to the States this weekend to celebrate the wedding of two dear friends!  And what a gift it was!  First of all, I didn’t think I was going to be able to go to the wedding at all.  Costa Rica isn’t exactly close to Lake Placid, NY.  But gratefully, I got the go-ahead from my boss, so I made the trip!

Going to the chapel for the #bretwedding!!!

Megan is one of the sweetest people I know.  She has such a heart for Christ and for serving others.  She overflows with the most authentic joy and is so full of life.  I am so grateful for her friendship that started on a hike up Ampersand, August 2010.  And Evan is another great friend.  He was my boss when I was an intern at Saranac.  He has such a servant’s heart and everything he does is intentional.  It was the absolute best being back in New York with so many great friends, celebrating their marriage!  So here they are, Mr. and Mrs. Bretschneider!!

And what a wonderful weekend it was!  It was quick, just a weekend, but it was great.  I was mentally preparing myself for not being able to see everyone I wanted/have all the conversations I’d like to have.  I was trying to have realistic expectations of a barely 72 hour trip back to America.  But I was blown away!  It didn’t feel like a whirlwind.  I felt like I got quality time with people.  Catching up on life, what’s been great and what’s been hard, what we’re learning and where we’ve seen the Lord at work.  How we’re all adjusting to new jobs and to calling new cities home.

Katie, so grateful for you.

Great place.  Great people.

There were other little gifts in the weekend.  The taste of Chick-fil-A and Chipotle.  And real Diet Coke.  I was reminded what it felt like to be cold.  Got to live in Katie’s Patagonia fleece and have a hot shower.  I was able to see what was left of the fall colors and sip a pumpkin spice latte with another sweet friend, Corine.  I left the States feeling full, rejuvenated, and rested.  I left with energy and an eagerness to dig deep into life here in Costa Rica.  To be intentional and make the most out of my ten months here.  It’s already going by so fast!

fun fact friday!

DID YOU KNOW???

You cannot clear an accident from the road until an insurance adjuster comes.  And where do accidents happen?  In intersections.  So yes, it causes a big mess and more accidents.  Even the smallest fender bender has to stay put until someone (usually from government) comes to assess damage.

Ticos really want Mexico out of the World Cup.  They were real upset when the US pulled out a last minute victory over Panama, because it meant Mexico still had a chance to qualify.

jaco!

This was a long time coming, but we finally made it to the beach!  Interns usually go in their first weeks before things really pick up the pace, but our first weeks were crazy.  So we decided to take this week’s Monday meetings to the beach!! And how glorious it was!

There were a few hiccups.  One, that our teammate almost missed the bus to Jaco because her bus downtown was taking FOREVER.  She even bailed at the first stop and pulled up in a taxi as the bus was departing.  And two, that our bus broke down on the way there.  #puravida

But, we made it!  And it was beautiful!  We went to Jaco, the closest beach about an hour away.  Well, in theory.  It’s on the Pacific coast and according to the locals it’s the “worst beach in Costa Rica”.  Let me tell you, the worst is pretty darn good!  It was beautiful!

See what I mean?!  This place is pretty gorgeous.  It was really cloudy when we got there (it’s the height of rainy season) and we were convinced we were going to get poured on, but then the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful!  No rain at all!!  #rainyseasonmiracle