Kids Club

For the past few weeks the girls and I have been going to Kids Club on Saturday mornings. It is hosted by Calvary Chapel here in Jaco and it is held at a park in one of the poorest neighborhoods in town. Yesterday I finally remembered to take my camera so I could take some pictures to share with you all. Bella wasn't feeling great so she isn't in any of them :(

The first thing they do is a game with all of the kids. The boys and girls compete against each other for points each week. There are usually twice as many girls than boys :)

After the game, there is a story time. This is always done in English and translated into Spanish.

Craft time is next. This past week they learned about the fishermen that Jesus called to be disciples so they each made their own boat on the water.

Each family receives a bag of rice and beans to take home with them.

They each also get an orange.

It has been really great helping out with this ministry and I will miss the kids who have grown accustomed to seeing us the past few weeks. This week when Bella was not there, some of the girls asked for her :)

Almost homeward bound!!!!

I can't believe we are into our last week here. I know I have said this before, but the past two weeks have just flown by! The first two were kind of difficult with some of us not feeling well and everyone just trying to adjust to being here, but these past two have been jam packed! We have been able to do some fun stuff in the past few weeks. On Sunday we went to a Super Bowl party :) I can not tell you one thing about the game...including who won, but we had some awesome food! It was a great mix of Tican and American :) On Monday, we were able to hang out with some friends that we met here 2 years ago that live in Moorhead City, NC. We haven't seen them in those two years, but we have kept in touch so it was nice to see them again. The kids had fun swimming in their huge pool and their hotel is right on the beach, so the boys had a blast surfing.

On Tuesday, we took a boat ride to Tortuga Island with our friends and it was so amazing!! In Jaco, the sand is dark (almost black) and because we are so close to the mountains, there are lots of rocks in the sand. In the rainy season, the rocks wash off the mountains and end up in the ocean :( Tortuga is a white sand beach that has water that is crystal clear (very much like the water on the Carribean coast) The boat ride took two hours and they served soda, water, "happy juice" and fruits on the way out. We saw flying fish and a guy was fishing off the back of the boat and caught a Mackerel! When we got to the Island, we went snorkeling first. I wasn't sure if the girls would want to do it, but it was included so we thought we'd give it a try :) They all had a blast! Makayla announced after ten minutes "I'm done with this!" and so we took her to the platform that they have floating in the water :) Those of you who know Makayla can just see her saying that as she pulls her mask and snorkel off! We did the snorkeling for about 45 minutes, which was just long enough. We saw all kinds of beautiful fish and the guides kept diving down and bringing up all kinds of starfish. It is amazing that in that small area, there were so many different kinds of fish...made me smile as I imagined God creating each and every one of them....right down to their amazing colors! What an awesome and creative God we serve!!! Then after snorkeling, the crew cooked some rice, bar-b-que chicken, salad and veggies for us...they even cooked up the Mackerel, which was amazing too! The rest of the day was spend just exploring and enjoying the water. Josh found another starfish and Joel took the kids exploring by the mountain side and found all kinds of neat things. Bella found a coconut and one of the crew helped her to crack it open and we all got to drink some coconut water and then we all ate some of the meat...it was soooo good :) The two hour ride back seemed longer because everyone was so wiped out, but we were on the water when the sun set....I can not even put into words what that is like and the pictures that I took will not do justice to it....again I say What an awesome God we serve!!!!!

Today we went to the property in the morning for a clean up day. Boy was it hot!!! The weather here has changed in the past few days and the temps have been climbing! Joel and some other guys worked on the windows some more and the kids and I did some yard work...pruning, planting, weeding, etc. About 2 1/2 hour into it, Makayla announced "This is not what I came to do!" I just had to laugh out loud! She is a bit spoiled being the "baby" but we made her work hard today! By the time we got home a little after noon, everyone was hot and starved :) The girls are at their friends' house swimming and they are having pizza with them for dinner and Joel and the boys are out surfing...that means I get the whole "house" to myself for a few hours :) It was a little sad grocery shopping today knowing that it will be one our last trips to the Maxi Bodego (which is Costa Rica's Walmart...it really is owned by Walmart) I have mixed feelings about going home...on the one hand, I am ready and I miss my friends and family terribly, but on the other hand, I feel like we are just getting used to being here. I am so glad we decided to come for the month though, considering how the first few weeks went. I think the kids are ready to get back to their "stuff" and their friends and all things familiar.

The next few days will be relatively quiet. We are having dinner on Friday with the Pastor of Calvary and his wife Revae and their girls, so that will be fun :) And I am sure this weekend we will start packing up our things and weighing our bags....we had very little room to spare on the way here, so we'll see how that goes :) We are still praying daily for direction and clarity. I think that we both thought that we'd get here and "feel" it and just know and that's just not the way it has happened. So, we will keep praying through this and ask that those of you who have been praying with us to do so as well :)

A Dios sea la gloria!

Kelley (& Joel)

Here are some pics from the past few days....

The kids playing in the pool at our friends' hotel.

On the boat on the way to Tortuga Island.

Joshua and the starfish he found on the beach.

Joel and some guys working on painting the windows on the property.

Bella cutting out some weeds on the property.

2 weeks down....2 weeks to go...more or less :)

I can not believe that we have been here for a little over two weeks already! In some ways it seems much longer and in some ways it seems like we have just gotten here. It is such a crazy feeling!

The last few days have been busy ones. We have spent time in bible studies, hiking in Manuel Antonio National Park, Joel has been doing some work at the property, we have had dinner with some wonderful new friends, the boys have done some surfing, and the girls and I have spent some time with some new friends having "girl time". We even visited with some friends from the states, that we met here 2 years ago, who are here again at the same time we are....talk about coincidence :) It truly has been a busy week! We are really enjoying getting to know all of the people that God is bringing across our path. There is such a mix of people here in Jaco! I have been especially blessed by some wonderful new friends that I have just enjoyed sitting and talking with.....God knew that I would need "girlfriends" here and provided just the right ones :)

As busy as the last week has been, it has also been very eye opening for Joel and I. I know that many of you are waiting to see a post that will announce what we feel we are being led to do and I am so sorry to disappoint, but we are still praying very heavily over that. It seems that each day God allows us to see a little bit more of the puzzle, but sometimes it blurs other parts...does that make sense? We get clarity in one area then another comes under question...it is an awesome learning experience for Joel and I and the kids. We have never really been stretched like this before. We feel like we are truly just walking by faith because if it were by sight, we'd probably have been home a week ago! The past two weeks have probably been two of the toughest in my life but even in all of that, I know that God is working in all of us. So, for those of you who are praying for us, please continue to do so. I truly believe it is your prayers that are sustaining us during some very trying situations and decisions.

This coming weekend is looking like a busy one :) As I mentioned in an earlier post, this little town swells over the weekends and this weekend is an art expo in the park...so we are expecting tons of people to pour into town. It is funny that after only two weekends here, the kids know that the crowds are coming :) We usually try to stay out of downtown on the weekends just because of the amount of people...and those of you who really know Joel, know how much he loves crowds :) But, we have a full agenda :) Saturday morning, Joel is going to the Men's Breakfast that Calvary Chapel does once a month. The girls and I (and maybe the boys too, they haven't committed yet:) are going to a nearby neighborhood to help out with Kid's Club. They usually have between 30-45 children show up and they have a game, bible story time, craft, snack and then each family gets some rice and beans. It is a very poor neighborhood and I have heard that they look forward to the weekly Kid's Club meetings. I am so excited to go and be a part of it! In the afternoon, the first library here in Jaco will open it's doors and they are having a fiesta to celebrate....complete with pinata!!! They don't have a lot of books and the majority of the people in this town do not even know how a library works, but the couple starting it has a real heart for the locals and want to see them more educated. They would really like to get some more books for kids in Spanish. Saturday night I am going to the monthly ladies' bible study that Calvary hosts at the Pastor's house led by his wife Revae. Sunday, after church, we will be going to a Super Bowl party....yes, there are some Americans here who are routing for their favorite teams too....or they just like to get together and eat the Super Bowl yummies :) Whewwww I am getting tired just typing all of what the next few days hold :)

The kids are doing well. The girls have enjoyed playing with Naomi and Abigail (Revae's daughters) They were even asking for a sleepover today...it would have to be at their house since the 6 of us barely fit in our condo :) JD is still suffering with some sinus headaches but our friends from the states brought some Sudafed with them for me and it seems to be helping him...I have a feeling that he will have them on and off while we are here :( Josh is Josh...he is fine on the go or just playing by himself. He had a blast chopping coconuts with a machete today at the property while Joel worked. Please continue to pray for their hearts to be open to whatever God tells us to do. It will not be easy to move them here but having an obedient heart does help (I keep telling myself this too! :)

Well, that is what has been going on with us. Like I have said before, Jaco becomes a little more familiar each day. We have even discovered some back roads to some places :) I made Joel and the kids order their own ice cream cones in Spanish the other night...it was funny, but they all did it :) We will definitely have to buckle down on the Spanish lessons if we are coming back!!!

A Dios sea la gloria!

Kelley (& Joel :)

Here are some pics of Manuel Antonio and some of the awesome animals we were able to see!

Yes, this sign is saying to go slow for sloths, monkeys and some other animal we couldn't figure out :)

This is the first sloth we saw in the park...he was moving very slow and eventually turned around and looked right at us! Very cool!

There were lots of Capuchin Monkeys and Howler Monkeys...the Howlers have this awful blood curdling cry! This little guy actually tried to steal some muffins from some people who left their stuff unattended :) He was too cute and even covered his face while we were telling him no!

We have no idea what this is, but he kept trying to get into our back packs of food! He would come off the mountain as soon as someone went into the back packs to get something to eat :) Of course I wasn't worried, our fearless protector was there :)

There are 3 private white sand beaches that you can play in once you hike in. This was in a little rock cove that we found to rest for a few hours :) The tide was coming in and the kids called this their "hot tub" :) They had a blast catching hermit crabs and just playing on the rocks.