End of the Year

As the school year came to an end here in Costa Rica, we decided to do things a little differently at the tutoring center. The kids didn't have homework, since they had finished with their exams a couple of weeks earlier. While school was technically still in session, no one had classes, so there were lots of extra kids hanging out at the tutoring center. We decided to take adavantage of the time to do some extra curricular activities: art projects, wood work, and cookie decorating. It was a great finale to close out our first year at the tutoring center.

As I said goodbye to the kids on the last day, it was hard to believe I wasn't going to see them for over a month while I was back in the States. I truly love getting to spend each day with these kids. It is such a privelege to be a part of their lives and to watch them slowly grow academicly and spiritually. God has been so faithful this year to give me nuggets of encouragement whenever I become discourgaged or worried that I'm not seeing enough "results". Creating the change is not my responsibility, it's God's, and I can see that He is working. I just need to continue to be faithful to follow His leading and not try to get ahead of His plan.


Jeremy working with some of the kids on their wood projects.


Everyone was very into their project.


We made letter/keyholders for them to give to their parents for Christmas


Decorating snowflakes

Visitors, Team, Thanksgiving, and Cookies

These last few weeks have found me rather busy with lots of visitors and fun activities. We hosted a wonderful team from Wasco, CA over the Thanksgiving break. I had the pleasure of having Julie and Abby working alongside me at the Tutoring Center. It was exciting to see both of them connecting with the kids and pouring their hearts out in service. There were many tearful goodbyes at the end of the week.

From Team, Thanksgiving, Cookies

As part of our time with the team, we braved another first at the Tutoring Center...decorating sugar cookies. Baking sweets is not cultural activity you will find in many homes here in Costa Rica. Most families do not even own a working oven. So the idea of decorating sugar cookies is a completely foreign concept, but one the kids were dying to try. With the help of a 2:1, child/adult ratio it was a great success. The cookies turned out beautiful and I don't think too much extra frosting was consumed in the process.

From Team, Thanksgiving, Cookies

Catalyna, Majoria, Abby, and Madai


These boys ate a lot of extra sprinkles!


Graciela and Rebeca

At the end of the week we had a giant Thanksgiving feast, including 2 turkeys the team smuggled into the country for us. (A small turkey here cost roughly $85). It was so fun to spend the evening with new and old friends, sharing in gratitude over all of the things we've been blessed with. We even got to carry on one of my family traditions--decorating your placemate with some of the things you are thankful for. :) Even though life can be challenging at times, we have so much to be grateful for!


They're really excited about turkey!

Many First's

We had an amazing time this weekend at the lodge up in Arenal. Thank you for all of your prayers; we certainly felt them. Every last detailed came together perfectly; I could not have planned it better even if I tried. The girls had an incredible time and can't stop talking about everything we saw and did in a short 36 hours. The girls had the opportunity to learn in a hands-on-way about all different kinds of farm animals and rainforest life. In addition, the weekend was full of lots of laughter and being silly together as we tried new things. More than anything, it was a great time building deeper relationships in a way that would never be possible within the tutoring center.

A Photo Essay of the weekend...

We picked up the girls at 7am in Los Guido in our microbus. On the way up, the girls experienced thick fog for the first time ever. They kept looking out the window saying, "Estamos en el cielo!" We're in heaven! Thanks to the fact seatbelts don't really exist here, the girls were able to bounce all around the van as we had a sing-along, promptly producing lots of motion sickness.

From Leaves and Lizard

Catalyna and Leah in the microbus

Luckily we made it to Leaves and Lizards without any accidents. Shortly after arriving we headed down to the barn to learn how to ride a horse. The girls were super excited, but got a little freaked out once we were actually near the horses. Notice Madai's face.

From Leaves and Lizard

Debbie did a great job easing their fears and teaching them how to comfortable control the horse. Within an hour everyone was riding with confidence.

Catalyna kept wanting to go faster. But as we were riding in a corral, it wasn't really an option.

From Leaves and Lizard

Belkys was extremely hesitant to go near the horses, and it took a lot of convincing to get her to even try it. But it was amazing to see her confidence level increase, especially after a scary freak out when one of the horses got spooked. She was amazing!

From Leaves and Lizard

It was also my first time ever on a horse! So fun to be able to share the experience with the girls.

From Leaves and Lizard

After riding, we shared a lovely dinner with Steve and Debbie and headed back to the cabin to rest before our big hike the next day.

From Leaves and Lizard

That night we all enjoyed hot water showers, and the girls used a blow dryer for the first time before sleeping like queens in our luxury cabins

From Leaves and Lizard

After our big breakfast of fluffy pancakes, cheese omelets, and bacon (all very special treats here), we headed off to hike through the rainforest with our trusty guide, Oscar.

From Leaves and Lizard

Catalyna, Belkys, Judith (Madai's mom), Madai


It rained on us almost the whole time, but we were prepared!

From Leaves and Lizard

Due to the rain, there weren't as many animals out and about, but we were still overwhelmed with God's amazing creation. It reminded me of all the nature hikes my family would do growing up.

From Leaves and Lizard

From Leaves and Lizard

From Leaves and Lizard

Our ride home held one more surprise for the girls.... McDonalds!!! Here in Costa Rica, American fast food is rather pricey and considered a very special treat. (The thing for middle class families to do is is have birthday parties at McDonalds) When we pulled in to the parking lot, the girls could not believe it! It was a great ending to a fabulous weekend!!!

From Leaves and Lizard

A very BIG thank you to Steve and Debbie of Leaves and Lizards for making this unforgettable weekend possible!!!

From Leaves and Lizard

Leaves and Lizard

In examining certain aspect of my personality and work style I realize I am much more of a detailed orientated person than a visionary dreamer. I like to dream, but quickly become intimidated by the bigness of it. I haven’t figured out the whole business of networking and building strategic partnerships, so I falsely think I have to accomplish the great idea all on my own.

A few weeks ago, a dream opportunity fell into my lap with enough of the big stuff already worked out; there was no way I could say no. I met Debbie and Steve last month when us girls decided to get out of the city for a night. We found their lodge, Leaves & Lizards, on the internet and decided to go for it even though it was further away. We had an amazing stay. Over our family style breakfast, I shared with Debbie and Steve about the kids I work with in the city. Debbie immediately lit up; she has always wanted to be able to bring city kids out there but lacked the connection. Perfect. We spent the rest of the morning dreaming of all the things we could do with the kids. Debbie is already super involved in the community there. All I needed to do was find transportation and convince the parents to le me take their kids for the night. Unbelievable. I was so excited, but still really nervous. How was I going to convince parents I’ve never met to let me take their daughters, who’ve never heard of the concept of a fieldtrip, on an overnight trip 4 hours away? Yikes.

This weekend I was finally able to meet with the mom of 2 sisters, Catalyna and Alicia, that I want to be a part of the trip. We had a wonderful time together. All of the kids were so happy I came to their home, and it was great to finally meet their mom. I shared with her more about the trip and why I wanted the girls to go. After reassuring her I would be with the girls at ALL times, she gave her permission. She continued to thank me for all that I am doing for her and her kids. I just kept telling her how much I love having her kids at the center. It was a very encouraging afternoon.

I still am a little nervous about the project, but I am so excited to see how God has gone before us opening doors and preparing connection I wouldn’t have made on my own. We still have a few more details to work out before our trip on Nov. 14-15, so please keep us in your prayers. I can’t wait to share how it all turns out!

Reading Time

Leah, Alicia, Madai, Winston, Catalyna

Ladies' Night

Most of you know I love playing hostess. It's one of the things that makes me feel at home in a new place. A couple of weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to host a Ladies' Night with several of our friends and fellow missionaries. It was a great evening of fellowship filled with lots of laughter and great stories. Together we represented half a dozens cultures and several different language, but everyone felt included. For me it is a beautiful pictures of the richness of the body of Christ and the blessing of being able to come together and share in fellowship.



Left to Right
Sonia, Tracey, Cailah, Aiyla, Leah, Erin, Kristina, Isabela, Giannina

A Photo Essay of Life

Soccer game for Josh's Birthday




SWAT police protecting our sections. We somehow ended up in the official cheering section.


Fun Day in the Park






Beautiful Creation in Costa Rica

Residency

After being "In Process" for almost a year, I finally received my Costa Rica residency. Yeah!!! This means I get discounts at all the National Parks, can get as many cellphones as I want, and most importantly, I don't have to leave the country every 3 months to renew my visa. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for this process; it is a HUGE relief to know I am approved.

In the same vein, Costa Rica is starting to feel a lot more like a home instead of a long trip. At the end of this month, I will have been here a year! It's incredible to reflect on all that has happened and been developed in this past year. I go back and forth between questioning why it took me so long to "get established" here and amazement that I am already so at home here. I still have a long way to go before I feel "native". Though, I am learning to be content in how far I've come and to recognize I don't have to take everything on at once. Development on a personal or community level doesn't happen overnight; it's a slow process if you want lasting results. Rather than trying to force things along, I'm learning to take opportunities as they come and invest in what is currently in front of me. So I'm enjoying the amazing friends from the States I'm blessed to have living here in Costa Rica, and slowly trying to build natural, deeper friendships with Spanish-Speakers here. I'm joyfully and diligently pouring into my twenty-ish regulars at the tutoring center, and not stressing about how to meet the needs of all the 1,400 students at the school next door. (plus the 3 other schools in Los Guido). This is what God has placed in front of me for now, and I want to give it my all.

Tiempo de Lectura

Reading has always been one of my favorite pastimes. Through a book we can travel to new worlds, experience different time periods and ideas, and begin to build dreams for our own lives. Unfortunately, reading is not a popular pastime here in Costa Rica, despite their seemingly high literacy rate. A large part of the problem is the lack of exposure to reading as an enjoyable activity. For awhile now I've been wanting to start a reading group with some of my more faithful 4-6th graders at the Tutoring Center. Josh found several copies of The Little Prince, in Spanish, for me, and I've been reading it through trying figure out how I'm going to get my kids excited about reading.

Then on Monday, I decided to stop in to one of the few used bookstores I've seen here in Costa Rica. Luis, the man who owns the closet-sized store, is a kindred spirit. We talked for almost a half an hour about the need to provide reading opportunities for kids and the magical experiences books allow us to have. He wants to help me build my little library in Los Guido. I bought a few children literature books to start with.

Today all classes were canceled in Los Guido, a far to common occurrence, which left my 4th-6th graders with nothing to do and no homework. I boldly suggested something they had never done before. Reading hour! As I glanced up from reading with Naiomi, I experienced one of my proudest moments yet in Los Guido. All of my kids were reading. Catalyna was pacing back and forth engrossed in the book of tales I'd purchased on Monday. Maidi was sprawled out on a bench with a pile of children's books beside her. And Alicia was hidden in the corner with her first ever chapter book. Even Jeff was reading the daily newspaper. It might not seem like much, but this small start is a huge encouragement to me. As well as, a reassurance that if good books are provided, children will read them if given a little push.

Lovingkindess in the Darkness

Most often it is through trials that we are able to get a glimpse of how much God really loves us and how fragile we humans truly are. These past few months have been filled with many trying circumstances, and at times I felt there was no way I would make it through. But God is continually faithful, even when we struggle to believe. He gives us the strength to hold on in faith, especially when we can't see our way through the darkness.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get away and visit a friend who lives out in the countryside. We spent several hours walking through the mountains marveling at God's amazing creation. In awe at the way He carefully designed each plant, shrub, and tree with a special purpose: to protect from landslides, provide shade for other plants, serve as homes and food for much of the wildlife. God's design in nature continues to remind me that He has a purpose and design for my life too. (I know this is elementary, but I frequently need reminding.) God is continuing to work together all the aspects of my life, the good and the trying, for His glory. Upon returning to the city, I read Psalm 107...

" Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD." ~v. 8,9,43

He loves us and will always provide for our needs as we walk with Him. This does not mean it will always be easy or "fun", but often through the dark times we are able to understand His lovingkindess even more.

From Weekend in Q-Town

From Weekend in Q-Town

From Weekend in Q-Town

Josh and I with the amazing view behind us. (If you want to see more pictures of the beautiful countryside, click on the album link)

Moving, Jungle, Leah

Thanks in great part to our wonderful friends and the team who came down early from Texas, we moved into our new house in record time. In less than 24 hours we completely packed up our old house, everything moved into our new house, and fumigated. Yeah, the only drawback to our new house is the cockroaches. I loathe cockroaches! Though my response has gotten better. I used to yell at Cailah, “Kill it! Kill it!” Now I can actually smash them myself, with only a small scream.


Cailah trying to keep the packing under control.


My new room. It's huge and I have a great view! No more giant window looking into my room the kitchen like at the old apartment.


Big, open kitchen! I love the "pistachio gelato green". It makes me happy every time I walk in.


After moving all our stuff over, the next morning we headed off to the jungle for a week with our last team of the summer. We spent most of the week working on projects around the Bible Campus: painting, laying block, organizing materials, and working in the garden. We experienced several days of heavy rain while in the jungle; one night we even had threats of a hurricane. (I didn’t believe it) Even though the rain appeared to be inhibiting our productivity, it provided great opportunity to build relationships with people on the team. And in the end, we were still able to complete all the projects the Sharps needed help with. My favorite part of the trip was being able to share the jungle experience with Blake and watching him dive right in with his very limited Spanish. We had two Costa Rican teenagers from the city with us, and Blake made it his mission to make them feel a part of the team. It was a complete success! Every time I saw them, the three of them were laughing and joking. I think Blake learned more Spanish in that week, than most people learn in a whole semester!


Blake and Nini. I'm not sure how much work the two of them got done, but they built a strong friendship.

A few days after arriving back in the city, my dear friend, Leah, flew in from California. She is here for at least 6 month to learn Spanish, and I’m so excited to have another friend here. As much as I want to build deep relationships with Costa Ricans, the time, effort, and language required to do so is a little daunting at this point. In the meantime, it is especially wonderful to have good friends, like her, Josh, and our team nearby. This summer has been extremely challenging for me, and I don’t know where I would be without the support of this community God has provided for me.

I’m looking forward to a slightly slower pace in the coming months. I will still be at the tutoring center full-time, but will have more time to plan and develop new ideas. I am also looking forward to building friend relationships with Costa Ricans.


Quality time with Blake in the new house.

New House!

Wow! Today has been one of the craziest days yet here in Costa Rica, but one filled with amazing blessings! Yesterday, I came home to apartment to an awful smell and the sound of water dripping. When I passed the bathroom, I realize the roof was ready to crumbled and there was quite a bit of standing water. Shortly after, the ceiling did fall and water started rushing down as my neighbor in the apartment upstairs continued to use his water even though he knew it was rushing into ours. There have been many quirks and issues in our apartment, but this was the last straw.

Though knowing how long it took us to find this place, we new it would have to be an act of God to find a new, suitable place and in less than 48 hours. (We leave for a week in the jungle on Sunday morning). God is so faithful! We found a great place by 9am, saw at noon, decided to take it and were meeting with the lawyer by 3:30pm. The locks were changed at 6pm and we've spent all night packing, with the help of Blake and Aiyla. Tomorrow morning, the team is going to help us move all our stuff into the new house, before we all head off to the jungle bright and early Sunday morning. I still cannot comprehend it. God is good. Please be praying for us, as we strive to get everything livable tomorrow. Our friend Rachel is house sitting for us, and we want her to at least be able to cook and sleep in comfort. Also, be praying that we get all of our deposits back from our landlord. She doesn't have any real grounds to withhold them, but we are leaving without giving a month's notice.

I can't wait to share pictures of the new place when we get back! We also have an extra bedroom now, so there is plenty of room for visitors.

Art Workshop

Thanks to the swine flu, kids here in Costa Rica got an extra week off for their winter vacation. (Yes, it's technically winter here right now). Given that this was our first experience running a tutoring center during vacation we didn't really know what to expect. Would we have no kids because everyone is enjoying their vacation? Or would we have a ton of kids because the moms wanted something for their kids to do? It proved to be more of the first. Our faithfuls, Alica and Catalyna were there everyday, along with a sprinkling of others. When presented with a third week of vacation, we decided to take advantage of it and plan something special. Bríana and Jaclyn, who were part of a group here from Fresno, helped me plan and prep for an Art Workshop. Jaclyn made lovely hand-decorated flyers and we invited all the kids who normally come to the tutoring center, plus a few more.

I was a little nervous because I've never taught art before, but I quickly realized you don't have to be a professional artist to teach kids. We had a great turnout, and the kids loved it!!! Plus, I think everyone from the group enjoyed painting as much as the kids did. It was also a great opportunity to help expand the kids world. We put art prints from old calendars up around the room to serve as inspiration. Many of the kids made their own rendition of Monet or Picasso, and now those paintings are going to brighten up their own rooms. I can't wait to do something like this again with the kids! Thanks to all the groups' help; I couldn't have pulled it off on my own.



The Giannina and Ricardo, pastors at the church where we do the tutoring center, with Jaclyn and Bríana


Paola, Allison and Kenneth had a blast painting with Shirley and Janie


Britany, intently focused on her pointillism


Alicia and Catalyna. Alicia loved Picasso!

Parents' Visit!!!

Last week I had the great pleasure of showing my parents around my beautiful new country. They arrived at the end of an outreach, just in time for my dad to speak at Kid's Club for Father's Day. It also provided an opportunity for them to get a little bit of a feel for what it's like when teams are here. Summer isn't the best time to visit, since we are normally extra busy with teams, but it's the only time my parents had a reliable babysitter(Blake) to stay with the rest of the kids still at home. We lucked out though, since their visit fell over the two weeks we didn't have a team. I was able to spend the weekend with them up in MonteVerde, before they headed to the beach to celebrate their 30th anniversary. After spending the workweek at the beach, they headed back into the city to hangout with me for a few days before my dad had to head back to work. We went Farmer's Market, a birthday party for the Dixon kids, my church, and my favorite restaurant. Josh also came into town for the weekend to hangout with my parents.

It was great to be able to share first-hand what daily life is like here in Costa Rica. My mom continues to comment on how much longer everything takes here. Yup. But there are also many things they now love about Costa Rica: the landscape, how waiters don't bring your check until you ask for it, the kids in Los Guido, thunderstorms. There was so much more I wanted to do while they were here, but we'll just have to save it for their next visit...

Centro de Tutoria

Today was the much anticipated beginning of our new Tutoring Center in Los Guido. Through home visits, time at the guardaria, and kids at the club de niños, it’s clear that there is a huge need for scholastic support in the community. Many of the moms in community did not make it past 3rd grade, and therefore do not feel equipped to help their children with their studies. The schools are extremely over crowded, and you’d be hard pressed to find a book in any of the classrooms.

Tracey and I are eager to start working with the kids in the community, but we also want to be sure were are offering the kids the best support possible. There is a tension between wanting to help every kid, but knowing that if we start out with too many kids we won’t be able to provide quality assistance to kids who really need one-on-one attention. Last night, as we baked cookies and prepared last minute details, we had no idea how many kids would show up today. I was a little nervous, much like the first day of school as a new teacher. I prayed that God would bring the kids He wanted to be there, and that He would give me the words to explain clearly, in Spanish, our hope for the tutoring.

And He proved Himself faithful; the day turned out perfect! In the morning group of orientation, we had several of our leaders from the club de niños, as well as a few other girls. They were all very excited about the tutoring center and seemed readily in accordance with the guidelines we had set out. They eagerly explained everything to one of the girls who came in late.

When it came time for the afternoon orientation, two of the girls from the morning group showed up with their younger siblings, neighbors, and a friend. They were super excited, and wanted to know why we couldn’t start tomorrow. (We are doing another orientation tomorrow, for those who couldn’t make it today).


At the end of both sessions we gave each kid a book from the collection of children Spanish literature that was donated. It made me so content to know that each child now has their own book. For most of them, it is probably the first book they’ve ever owned. I know there are going to be many challenges we will face, as we try to support these precious kids in their journey to expand and use their mind, but I am thrilled to be able to work with kids through the medium of education. There are endless possibilities of what we can do through the space the church has provided us. My mind is spinning with ideas. For now, please continue to pray for me and Tracey, and each one of the kids who come to the tutoring center. Pray that we would have patience, language, and wisdom how to best serve each child. Pray that the kids would be like sponges, and that they would be able to overcome the many obstacles they face in learning.



This is the main room of the tutoring center. We also will have the small room off to the side to set up a mini library and use for special group tutoring

Also, tomorrow afternoon we have another group of Students coming from the States. This time they are a large group of freshmen in high school, so it will be a completely different experience from the last group. :-) In the mornings they will help finish preparing the tutoring center by painting and finishing furniture. In the afternoons, they will work alongside me tutoring students or helping the Costa Rican kids practice their English.