Family Time!

There's nothing quite like being able to share your life first-hand with the one's you love. Certainly one of the greatest challenges of living in Costa Rica is being so far away from my family and friends. That distance is compound by the fact the daily factors of my life here are so foreign to most people living in the States. They can't fully understand how tiring it can be to take buses everywhere; or how going to the grocery store isn't a simple exercise; or how road construction can completely change the local public school schedule for months thus effecting everything at the Tutoring Center. These are things that no matter how hard I try, cannot be fully understood from a distance. So to be able to have my mom, dad, and brother, Benje, be able to come down and live life with me for bit, was such a blessing. They road the bus, hung out with my kids at the Center, experienced San Jose, and explored the beauty of Costa Rica. It was so wonderful to be able to catch up on life over long dinners and lazy afternoons at the beach. No matter how good technology is, it's not the same as being able to sit with the one's you love. Though I will always wish I could have more time with them, I am so thankful that each was able to come and share in life here.


Click on the picture below to see the rest of the photos from our time together.

Family Time

Summer Wrap-up

Things are beginning to settle down a little after our packed summer season. We had quite a few groups of great helpers come work alongside us in the Tutoring Center. It's always good to have extra hands and loving hearts. Plus, the kids at the Center love getting to meet new people and get a kick out trying to help the teams practice their Spanish. Even though the teams are only here for such a short time, I know that lives are being impacted. It's difficult at the end of the two weeks, both for the American students and our kids to say goodbye. Our hope is that these experiences will have a life-growing impact for both groups. Thank you to everyone who came and shared life with us this summer. We hope you have taken what you learned here and are continuing to serve and have an impact back home in your community.


Playing "What is my profession?" with the girls as we talked about Dreams and Goals during Girls' Group.


An impromptu recess. The kids love when teams come because they get to play more games and run around outside since we have extra people to help supervise.


Silly boys!


Ki and Rebecca working on a puzzle during break time.

Blake's Here!

I know this is a little late, but the last few months have been a bit busy. Blake is here for 9 months to work on his Spanish and help out with SI. He's getting ready to move in with a Costa Rican host family, but it has been so fun having him at my house for the last 2 months. We haven't lived together since he was eleven years old, so we all kinds of new things to learn about each other. Luckily, his new host family is just a short walk from my house, so we'll still be seeing lots of each other. I'm so grateful to be able to share this experience of living and working in Costa Rica, with my little brother. He continues to be a source of encouragement and inspiration to me.