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.
No comments:
Post a Comment