Sunday - March 7
We are safely ensconced in La Casa Metodista. Will & Ella, the on-site missionaries, have given us their orientation and we are settling in for the evening. We are preparing ourselves for a full day of work on Monday leveling floors with dirt, pouring columns, laying blocks for walls, and tying rebar. Our tubs full of crafts as well as Maddie's hair care products arrived along with us (YAY!). The weather is balmy, at least compared to Michigan standards. The Costa Ricans feel it is a little cool. Some of us have met "Mama Dog" and her litter of two-week old puppies. Life is good! and God is good!
Tuesday - March 9
The coffee is brewing and the team members are awakening. Yesterday was full of new experiences for most of us. Fortunately the ticos (the local men working on building the children's home: Darwin, Danny, Roberto, Aleandro) are very patient with us. We worked a full day, 8 am-4 pm, hauling dirt by wheelbarrow, tying rebar, and laying cement blocks. We came home quite weary. Last night we practiced singing songs in Spanish to lead at bible school, fleshed out our burning bush script, and finished organizing our crafts, then had devotions and for some an early bedtime while others played euchre and chess. The Methodist house is quite comfy.
We're heading out to breakfast momentarily and look forward to a morning of hard work and an afternoon of fun with the children at Bible school.
Blessings to you at home!
Wednesday - March 10
Another day in paradise. Actually, it's cloudy this morning, which is a good sign for the work site. A few of us are sporting some pink skin from yesterday's work.
We had our first afternoon of bible school: only 14 children showed up but we had a great deal of fun with them. They enjoyed our skit, with Ben as Moses, Larry as the burning bush, and Maddy as God. Today Evan gets to be Pharaoh!
They are making a special announcement at the school today so we can get the 50 or so children we are hoping for.
Bessie is hoping for Taco de Perro for dinner (Dog Tacos). The neighborhood dog, Mama Dog, was barking in the middle of the night (ok, just kidding). She does have 7 adorable puppies so perhaps we'll not do that after all.
Well, breakfast awaits. Will, the onsite missionary was admonishing us so we have to be a little more timely.
Thursday - March 11
It's a bright sunny morning and we're headed to breakfast. Bible School was wonderful yesterday. We had about 40 children and they loved the craft time, songs & Moses skit (the Exodus). Ben again made a great Moses and Evan was a great Pharoh. The spontaneous hugs from all the children at the end of the afternoon made all the preparations and hard work worthwhile.
Will & Ella, the missionaries, joined us for dinner and devotions. We also had the opportunity to buy hand-painted artwork from a young man from one of the churches they serve.
Today we will be at the work site all day. The walls are getting higher and the rebar columns are getting built. We keep hoping for a cloudy day like Monday, but mostly it's pretty hot. Foofie, the mangy dog at the worksite, always manages to find a sliver of shade. So far everyone had been in good spirits. The view from the workplace, which is high up the mountain, is inspiring.
Well, signing off for another day. Take care and we'll see you soon!
Friday - March 12
This morning we put on our torn, rebar-stained, and concrete-spattered clothes for the last time to head out to the work site. Yesterday we worked a full day and were very grateful for cloudy weather.
We can't believe it will be time to say farewell to our coworkers, Leandro, Roberto, William, Danny, Darwin, and Jose. Carmen, Jose's wife, has prepared our lunches at the work site. We have fun visiting with their younger daughters, Hilary & Laidi. If I understand correctly, they are from Nicaragua. They are certainly very hard-working and industrious. Some are from a mission in San Jose, a district called Los Guidos, which is a shanty town in a little valley outside the city. Will & Ella have a Saturday morning program for children in Los Guidos.
We have been fed very well if I haven't mentioned that before, although the food has been Americanized. We would like to sample more foods that are Costa Rican, but we can't complain because it has been so delicious.
Tonite we are going out to dinner with Will & Ella to an Italian restaurant. :-)
