turtle tour

for $24 i could have gone on a turtle tour tonight. what an cool experience that would've been. i hadn't booked cuz i wasn't sure i could stay awake all night, it was from 7pm to 1am. i had checked out earthwatch's website and it costs about $2,000 to come here to do a turtle tour.

after having something to eat (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at 3.30 and all days' coffee in one sitting i decided i could stay awake and returned at 5.45 to book the tour. i had overheard someone saying it was almost 7 and learned that the time changed to daylight savings today and when i arrived to book the tour they were leaving. i am still in my bathing suit so so much for a turtle tour.

costa rica doesn't change the time. but apparently some locals do and some don't - that should be helpful in understanding the bus schedule?

in nicaragua now

left cañas at 08.00 this am and finally cleared the border at peñas blancas at 12.40. it took 2 1-2 hours to go through the border. there were hundreds of people. and tons of money changers. not having my calculator on me i changed 8,000 colones for cordobas (nicaraguan currency). i got ripped off. i only changed 8,000 cuz i'd left my fanny pack (with the rest of my money and credit card) in my backpack on the bus. needless to say the money changer wasn't seen again.

see no fear here. said as i am again shaking my head at myself.

i am at a small beach town for a few days then think i will go to granada for 1 or 2 days. it's supposed to be beautiful, centuries old spanish architecture.

here, in san juan del sur, all the streets are made of paving stones. very cool. most of the houses, schools, churches and some stores in nica are made of red brick. also very cool. and with original spanish tile roofs. they're beautiful.

i have a tica bus map showing there is a tica bus terminal in san juan del sur. so of course i expected the bus to drive into san juan. not so. they let me off on the highway in almost the middle of nowhere so i start hiking down the road in the direction of the ocean. until i saw a sign that said san juan 18 kms. with a 20 pound pack and hot sun. mm - don't think so.

i talked to a family who flagged down a taxi for me. the taxi was like a bus inasmuch as he had 4 different fares in the car.

it's a small, quiet, peaceful beach town on a beautiful curved bay. poor nica shacks dot the hillside to the south, rich haciendas cover the hillside to the north and quaint little restaurants / bars all along the beach.

common sense

lol - aug 9 from my utmost - never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side.

well there's definitely no fear of that here.

help

the odd time as i run a scenario through my mind of being in trouble and needing help, i think of who i would ask for help and as quickly as i think of some person i think of Jesus. maybe it's a natural human response to think of another human for help but as a child of God to know that He is our Helper, our Protector. and He is always there for us.

instant panic

yesterday while we worked in one school the principal asked if i would talk to the students for half an hour in english. instant panic. what could i say they had fed us lunch. instant prayer. i said yes and as i walked 12 feet to the classroom said panic prayers to Jesus for help and calm. instant response. everything went as smooth as a baby's bum.

God is so awesome! and so faithful!

feeling kinda emotional this time around

not sure why but the last few months i have cried a few times. i thought it was because of the full moons but the past 2 days there hasn't been a full moon. i feel like i'm more running away from home than leaving the country for 3 days. instead of becoming more tranquila i seem to be less. i love everyone so much but they just don't care about things and it's driving me crazy. i miss them just being away for 1 day. as much as living there is driving me crazy there is no place i'd rather be. they take immaculate personal care but as for the house and yard, nobody gives a ..it. so why should i care if they don't? they are perfectly happy, tranquilo.

500 trees for $700

i am working with toshi, a japanese agronomist (?), making vegetable gardens in schools. he said vision mundial is buying trees for some of the schools in the area. sadly they do not include the poorer schools i visited on the frontera. (but i'm working on him) i asked about buying trees and for $700 they can buy 500 orange trees. also talking to him about making gardens in those schools and needed a villager or family to take responsibility for the garden.

i told toshi if he would prepare a list of materials and prices for vision mundial costa rica to give to world vision canada
so if anyone wanted to make a donation to world vision canada they will give the money to vmcr to buy these materials, ie garden implements, seeds, trees.

please pray about this and if you can help please let me know and i will put you in touch with the person at world vision canada that i am involved with. this way you can get a tax receipt from world vision canada for whatever amount you donate.

on the road again

yesterday after working with vision mundial in 2 schools in 2 communities i returned to los chiles at 1.30. the next bus to upala was at 2.00 so i got on it. i was on buses from 2 to 7.40.

it got dark. i had no idea where i was going or where i would sleep when i got there. originally i had intended to spend the night in los chiles but the bus for upala was there so i got on it. but then there weren't any rooms in upala. so i got on the bus again to go to cañas.

as i started thinking i must be crazy i wondered about talking to God. i know i told Him last nite i had to leave the country for 3 days and i wanted to go to nicaragua but as i was travelling i wondered if i had listened to Him for an answer. didn't recall that i had. was He up there just shaking His head at me. as i contemplated my situation, dark, alone, no destination, no reservation i questioned my sanity again and got a little flutter in my stomach. i know the bus heading somewhere was not the time or place to start to get worried. so i talked to God. if i have said i trust God wtih my life, my future, then that included last night and i didn't have to worry. i told God that yes i did trust Him even though i didn't have a clue about what would happen last night. i asked Him to calm my fears and He did. we can say God's will be done. tomorrow, next week, next year but what about this next minute or hour. when i wonder what my future holds, what will i do, where will i go at the end of the year i also had to wonder where will i be and where will i sleep last night. usually i can anwer that. not yesterday. didn't have a clue. thankfully it wasn't something i had to worry about. even if He doesn't i find myself shaking my head at myself. i wonder why i just get it into my head to get up and go somewhere. and then i get out the map and see where i am and wonder if i wanted to go to nica why did i end up in cañas. i guess cuz this is where the bus came.

i thought of sushi as i wrote this and what an adventure we could be having.

how many people can you fit on a motorcycle?

a family of 3 or even 4 can ride all over the country here. and if you have one you carry your helmet in your hand.

last week when i got off the bus at santa cecilia (the highway) i was asked if i wanted a ride home. i knew i recognized the man so i said sure (although that wouldn't make a difference now). it has been raining so-o much the road has rivers running across it so it would've been a very slippery, muddy walk home.

there was a little boy in the drivers seat and i expected someone else was either coming or the man would change seats with the boy. nope! the kid put it in reverse and backed up. not recognizing the scraping noise he continued backing into the delivery truck sitting right beside him. at this point i asked the man how old the kid was - 10. 10 years old and he's driving. about a dozen people watched all this and then guided the kid as he jockeyed back and forth to turn the suzuki around so he could drive out front first.

his vision was between the top of the dash and the top of the steering wheel. it seems just about anything goes here. although when we got to about 200 metres from amparo the man told the kid to turn around. maybe cuz we have police in amparo and there aren't any in santa cecilia.

suitors

oh dear they're getting younger. last sunday in church a little boy, maybe 11 or 12, maybe 10, who knows, gave a note to his younger brother to give to me telling me his name. as i was leaving the church the little brother gave me a piece of scrunched up paper. i thought it was garbage but opened it to find another note saying that i was very affectionate and that he loved me. i only ever say hi and smile.

chico's story

chico's gone. he's found his family and he's gone home.

he was born in nicaragua and left his family when he was 9 years old to come to costa rica with an 11 year old brother to look for work. he had lost contact with his family and had not seen his mother and father and 3 other siblings for 12 years. he had not seen his older brother for 10 years. an 11 year old boy on his own looking for work in another country, no family, no friends.

12 years later he ends up working with an uncle who tells him where his family is. he has two sisters 25 and 15 years old. and his brothers are 18 and 23.

so he wasn't abandoned. he left a loving family to find work to help feed his family. and now he has found them again. he was so happy to be going home.

i am so happy for him but sad that i won't see him again. he is a very fine young man who aspires to sing in church, play the keyboard and become a pastor.

world vision donations

Unfortunately, due to CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) regulations the only way World Vision Canada can issue tax receipts is if the funds come into our office.

Then what I have done in the past is if someone had a specific request to purchase items/goods etc. that the World Vision Costa Rica office required/knew about...I send them a Gift Notification with instructions on what to purchase. Gift Notifications are a min. of $100 Canadian.

information passed on to me from world vision canada for anyone that had thought about donating money for here.

going to panama

you can only be in costa rica for 3 months before you have to leave the country for at least 3 days. a customs officer took a closer look at the date on my passport the other day so i thought i'd better adhere to the rules this time.

also because God said i am only here for one year, and who knows maybe i won't be back, and as i am so close to the panama canal i thought it would be a good reason to go see it.

also it just happens to coincide with when costa rica's national soccer team will be playing in panama.

chico's family

turns out he's been working with an uncle who told him his mother and brothers live in costa rica. yesterday he found out where they live and he plans to go visit them this weekend. he hasn't seen his mother for 12 years or his brothers for 10 years. needless to say he's just a little nervous. scared but very happy.

did she abandon him because she just couldn't afford to feed him anymore or?

people have taken him in and taken care of him for as long as they could afford to feed him. now he's returning the favour. he has a huge, generous heart and is feeding and taking care of those that have been taking care of him.

marriage proposal

yesterday one of the fellows i've been working with asked me to marry him. he's a hunk but i said no, it'd be like robbing the cradle. after we finished what we were doing then he asked me to go on a date. might've been fun but i didn't want to encourage him. one thing here age just doesn't seem to matter.

feeding the hungry

yesterday i was reading a brief article in 'in touch' magazine on the life of the man that started world vision and samaritan's purse. i read ''people of the world are so hungry to hear the gospel'' and i burst out crying. where i am living and in the surrounding communities that i go to i see people or hear of people that are so hungry, period. i hadn't planned to do anything but stay home yesterday cuz i was coming here to san carlos today and monday i was in a couple of different villages and thursday i am going back. but right after reading that line and crying it was like God was touching my heart to get busy and do more.

i know when we were giving out sandwiches to the street people in mission it touched my heart. as i walked down the alley to give food to the addicts in a crack house all of a sudden i started crying because it was like God was touching my heart telling me i was where He wanted me doing what He wanted me to do.

the bible talks about feeding the hungry, clothing the poor. as i read that line i thought but i don't know how to speak the gospel to people and i certainly can't speak the language, but what i did think was that i do want to help feed people that are hungry, to provide seeds and tools so they can help themselves, to provide school supplies, clothes, toothbrushes, whatever. i think of other people and agencies in canada that are there to help people and think i belong here because there aren't enough people or agencies or money here to help the people and there is such a great need.

going home

took a break for a week and went to stay at a friends place an hour west of san jose. she has two very beautiful houses set in an incredibly beautiful acreage that has to be a replica of the garden of eden. i was in one house by myself and read a lot of books for a week. there was a young couple staying in the other house where the tv and phone are. it is set in the mountains and even in the middle of the day it was dark and you could almost feel the jungle closing in on you. the houses are almost brand new with up-to-date modern conveniences. it was much cooler, from mid to high 30's in amparo to low to mid 20's. there were no mosquitoes, no gargantuan spiders inside. there is a pool that overlooks the central valley. you would never have to leave except to buy groceries. there is a man that takes care of the grounds and his wife cleans the houses once a week. the flowers, the trees, the birds, the butterflies. everything was just so clean and beautiful. i was living in the lap of luxury.

and i was miserable. as i weighed the pros and cons about returning home to amparo i thought of how poor and broken down the house is, the garbage (no pickup here), the smells (smokes from the fires, burning mosquito coils inside the house, poisons to kill the various bugs, chickens in the house, rotting fruit), the huge spiders, the roosters, the mosquitoes, bats, snakes, toads, coakroaches, billions of ants, etc. in the house, cooking and cleaning and laundry for 9 or 10 people i wondered about the ache in my heart. i had read several books but none of them were the bible. when i finally stopped reading and started talking to God i knew i wanted to go home. i was so unsettled for a week and once i'd made the decision to go home i was so excited. last night i made dinner, cleaned, did laundry, helped the boys with their homework, talked with them. i had missed them so much. i was home. i was content.

there really is no place like home.

God's faithfulness

never ceases to amaze me. even though i haven't spent much time with Him lately, when i returned home yesterday after a week away i was loaded down with 2 very heavy backpacks and 3 more bags. i knew i wouldn't be able to carry them the hour walk home from the highway and i had hoped i would be in time to catch the school bus returning to amparo from the highway. when i got off the bus there were two of the boys friends at the corner store and i asked them about the bus. i didn't understand what they said but thought that it was that there was no bus. i started off walking with all my bags and i hadn't walked very far when the boys called out to me to say they wanted to help me with my bags. no matter what it is, no matter where it is, God will always, always give us what we need when we need it. even if we lose ourselves for awhile He thankfully will not forget us. even when we aren't He thankfully is always faithful.

chico's generosity

my back and neck have been bothering me since i returned to costa rica. i have not been sleeping well because of it and one day a bed was delivered to our house. for me. from chico. this young man works 6 days a week, sometimes leaving the house and 4 a.m. to walk to whichever farm he might be working at for the day, returning 13 or 14 hours later. not all days are the same, sometimes he can only get a few hours work a day. he earns dirt poor wages, slaving under a blistering hot sun at 38 or 39 degrees, or in torrential rains. he buys clothes and other things for the other boys. he gave the most money to the church to buy the new keyboard. he helps support the family. dany and jonny graduate this year and chico has said that once dany and jonny are finished school he will go to school next year so he can get an education. chico had thought that a special bed would help my back and thought nothing of spending money to help me feel better. i explained that the bed wouldn't help so it went back. but i was touched by his generosity. and reminded of the widow who gave all she had. and of the rich young ruler who couldn't bear to part with his money. he is such a simple and awesome young man.

garden paradise

the book 'wild at heart' says 'where the geography around us corresponds with the geography of the heart' if you know me you know i have always had a lot of plants - friends have referred to my house as a jungle. now i am surrounded by them and i don't ever want to leave costa rica. i cannot imagine leaving this garden paradise or living anywhere else now. it is so beautiful.