Now that i have given you the day by day scoop I want to tell you about my feelings and reflect on my summer. In beginning to reflect I just have to first mention how blessed I am to have had the opportunities that I have had this summer. It has been amazing to travel and see so many things. I love to travel and have had a great time but there is always something to be said for sleeping in your own bed, which I have done 3 times in a month :).
Looking back on Vegas. It was a good trip, I am glad that I got to see Vegas and experience the strip and some shows. I think it was nice for Casie and I to travel together since we don't see each other often. it was a good celebration trip for both of our accomplishments. I have almost 500 pictures from that trip.
I was home all of 2 days to do laundry, unpack and repack for the next phase of my travels.
Then I was NC & SC bound. I am so fortunate to have Amanda in my life. Since she is back in North Carolina and I am in Lexington it isn't always easy to keep in touch as much as we would like to. It was good to celebrate the 4th with her family, this was the 5th year that I have been on Lake Keowee with the Thomas family. I spent the week leading up to the trip to Costa Rica helping Amanda do last minute things for the trip. Amanda is amazing at what she does; I could not imagine doing her job. All of us are called to do what we are good at and Amanda was so gifted in organizing a trip for 40 people to go out of the counry as well as how wonderful she is working with, relating to, and mentoring the youth. So July 7th rolls around, the day that I had been anticipating for several months. It was my first time to go out of the country, it was the first time I had been on a youth mission trip, and it was the first time I had gone on a trip with 39 (25 youth and 15 adults) other people and the only person I knew was Amanda. So I have to admit I went in with a little nervousness, but knew that everything would be fine. There were a couple of times that I was totally shocked by behavior and conversations among the youth, but I learned what to expect and I felt that I fit in pretty well. I met lots of wonderful people on this trip and I was amazed at the generosity of the adults of the group in including me and acting as if they had known me forever. It was a great feeling to have met and bonded with so many great people, including a few of the youth. I am so blessed and fortunate that Amanda invited me on this trip, it was an incredible experience. In addition to all of the friendships I made I was able to go to another country and use some of the gifts that God has blessed me with. I was able to use Spanish to communicate with the people in Costa Rica, including talking with the bus driver, having a wonderful conversation with the house mom of the baby at the orphanage, and even being able to thank the generous ladies who cooked for us all week. I also was blessed to be able to connect with the children at the orphanage. Taking the time to hold a baby, feed him, give him medicine, and rock him to sleep met needs of his but also it helped the house mom, this was such a blessing to me because I was able to use a gift of mine to help others. Many of the people on the trip had different gifts that they were able to use at the different places, I did not feel like I was working because I was doing something I love, which was being with children. In addition to serving others I had lots of fun along the way and had many once in a life time opportunities. Some of those opportunites include seeing the beautiful country of Cost Rica, snorkling off the coast, and being in great company,
I have so many things to be thankful for in my life and this summer has been an illustration of that.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Saturday, Sunday, & Monday
We got up with plans to go snorkling and to do a zip line through the rain forest, but we also woke up to rain which we were afraid would impact our plans. But we were lucky and it cleared off by 8 am. So we grabbed some breakfast and one group left for the zip line and 8 of us went snorkling. We got fitted for our flippers and masks, walked to the boat and set out into the ocean in a very small boat with a motor on the back that Kendree, the guide had carried with him to the boat. We wore our life jackets and made it safely to our snorkling destination. :) We had to get our flippers and masks on and jump out of the boat. We saw coral, lots of little fish, one girl saw an eel, and basic sea creatures. Not too far into the journey I lost my snorkel...which meant I just had to hold my breath to look undrewater. I took in a lot of VERY salty water before Kendree found my snorkel on the coral. The coral was very close to the top of the water in places, so at one point in kicking my flippers I hit my knee on the coral, which left several cuts :( We got back in the boat and moved to a different place. Out of the boat again, more looking and exploring. This was such an amazing experience. Then it was back in the boat after a couple of hours to head back to shore. Kendree had brough each of us a coconut on the boat, he used his machette to cut it open and we could drink the juice and eat it. Keep in mind that I had eaten breakfast, swallowed lots of salt water and was back in a tiny boat, so my stomach was not happy about the coconut.
Due to the condition of my stomach I chose not to do the zip line in the afternoon. I didn't think I could hike through the mountains and rain forest and zip to platforms to hike some more with the way I felt. I layed on a rock wall in front of the hotel and got some sun while my stomach settled. much later in the afternoon I had lunch with a group and did some souvenier shopping. I layed in a hammock and relaxed after shopping. That night we had our last dinner and came back to sit on the porches in rockers and talk about the trip. It was had to believe the trip was coming to an end.
Sunday morning we were up really early and had the bus loaded by 5:45 am, had breakfast and headed back to the airport in San Jose, which was about a 3 1/2-4 hour trip. We made it through the airport with no trouble. We flew into Charlotte NC, went through customs, and were back on the charter bus headed to Asheville. We stopped quickly for McDonalds and then had a 2 hr bus ride. We were back in Asheville around 11:40 Sunday night.
I spent one last night on Amanda's couch and on monday I took my time getting ready and getting all of my stuff ready to come back to KY. I had lunch with Amanda and drove back to KY. I got home a little after 7 pm on Monday night.
What an amazing couple of weeks! I am SO blessed!
Due to the condition of my stomach I chose not to do the zip line in the afternoon. I didn't think I could hike through the mountains and rain forest and zip to platforms to hike some more with the way I felt. I layed on a rock wall in front of the hotel and got some sun while my stomach settled. much later in the afternoon I had lunch with a group and did some souvenier shopping. I layed in a hammock and relaxed after shopping. That night we had our last dinner and came back to sit on the porches in rockers and talk about the trip. It was had to believe the trip was coming to an end.
Sunday morning we were up really early and had the bus loaded by 5:45 am, had breakfast and headed back to the airport in San Jose, which was about a 3 1/2-4 hour trip. We made it through the airport with no trouble. We flew into Charlotte NC, went through customs, and were back on the charter bus headed to Asheville. We stopped quickly for McDonalds and then had a 2 hr bus ride. We were back in Asheville around 11:40 Sunday night.
I spent one last night on Amanda's couch and on monday I took my time getting ready and getting all of my stuff ready to come back to KY. I had lunch with Amanda and drove back to KY. I got home a little after 7 pm on Monday night.
What an amazing couple of weeks! I am SO blessed!
Friday
We got up, packed up, cleaned up, and moved out before breakfast. Then it was time for our trip to the beach. We had about a 4 hour bus ride to Cahita. It was a beautiful drive through the rainforest and mountains to get to the beach. I was so tired but wouldn't go to sleep because I was afraid I would miss something. We went through Limon, which is a big port. Finally we got to the beach. The town was tiny, with dirt roads, 2 grocery stores, a few souvenier shops, 5 restaurants, our "hotel", lots of coconut trees, a beutiful view.
We pulled up to a wooded building and the look on the kids' faces were priceless. It was a neat place that was about 40 ft. off the water with lots of hammocks and rocking chairs on the porch and balconies. There was no air conditioning, just screened windows, and two fans in the room. We could not drink the water here, we could not even brush our teeth with the water. We got our stuff carried into our rooms and then we went to lunch/dinner. Then we went to the beach; to get to the beach you have to walk through the rain forest path where we saw monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and lots of bugs to get to the beach. It was beautiful. It got dark at 6:00 there so we stayed close to the hotel after dark laying in the hammocks and hanging out together.
We pulled up to a wooded building and the look on the kids' faces were priceless. It was a neat place that was about 40 ft. off the water with lots of hammocks and rocking chairs on the porch and balconies. There was no air conditioning, just screened windows, and two fans in the room. We could not drink the water here, we could not even brush our teeth with the water. We got our stuff carried into our rooms and then we went to lunch/dinner. Then we went to the beach; to get to the beach you have to walk through the rain forest path where we saw monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and lots of bugs to get to the beach. It was beautiful. It got dark at 6:00 there so we stayed close to the hotel after dark laying in the hammocks and hanging out together.
Tuesday-Thursday
We had breakfast and headed to work. I went to check on the baby, Juan Gabriel. I fed him, gave him his medicine and got him to sleep for a nap. I then went to play with the toddlers and visited the baby again before leaving for lunch. When we got back I was able to go see the baby, give him his bottle and medicine again and got him asleep for another nap. I played with the toddlers and then left for the evening.
Wednesday morning when I was going to the baby's house I was stopped by the toddlers playing outside. I heard a tap on the window and looked up to see the house mom of the baby holding a jar of baby food motioning for me to come in. She wanted me to feed him so that she could work in the kitchen. So I fed him, gave him his medicine and got him asleep for a nap. Once he was down for a nap I talked with the house mom about the baby and she asked if I had kids, what I did in the states, etc. It was a great conversation and I found out that Juan Gabriel has been at the orphanage since March. I am not sure why he is at the orphanage, but he is a beautiful baby! Wednesday and Thursday were a repeat of Tuesday, spending time with the toddlers and baby. Occassionally if the baby and toddlers were all sleeping I would spend some time with the older ones but most of my time was with the little ones.
Thursday after work we went suvenier shopping before dinner. Then it was back to the compound for the evening.
We had a really neat time of reflection with the whole group, we each took a turn talking about what we had learned that week and about our experiences. After this we packed up to leave on Friday morning for the beach.
Wednesday morning when I was going to the baby's house I was stopped by the toddlers playing outside. I heard a tap on the window and looked up to see the house mom of the baby holding a jar of baby food motioning for me to come in. She wanted me to feed him so that she could work in the kitchen. So I fed him, gave him his medicine and got him asleep for a nap. Once he was down for a nap I talked with the house mom about the baby and she asked if I had kids, what I did in the states, etc. It was a great conversation and I found out that Juan Gabriel has been at the orphanage since March. I am not sure why he is at the orphanage, but he is a beautiful baby! Wednesday and Thursday were a repeat of Tuesday, spending time with the toddlers and baby. Occassionally if the baby and toddlers were all sleeping I would spend some time with the older ones but most of my time was with the little ones.
Thursday after work we went suvenier shopping before dinner. Then it was back to the compound for the evening.
We had a really neat time of reflection with the whole group, we each took a turn talking about what we had learned that week and about our experiences. After this we packed up to leave on Friday morning for the beach.
Monday
the work week...
I chose to "work" at the orphanage. Monday morning we had breakfast at the church in Guadalupe and then split up into our groups to go to the different work sights. We took the group to the school and got to tour the campus, it was a neat school. They have seperate buildings for speech/language, vision, motor, mental challenges (this is what they referred to as the building where children with down syndrome, autism, etc. are serviced), in addition to a an administrative building and dentist office that services the children, families, and staff. There are several playground areas, walkways, sensory gardens and adaptive equipment throughtout the campus. We left the group who was going to be working there making more walkways and working on the administrative building flooring. Then we went to the house and it was a tiny little place in a very bad neighborhood, we were able to walk down and see where they would be building the house. It was a lady names Trinidad who had been praying for Charlie and his work for a long time. Trinidad is living in a shed with her 2 dogs to protect the materials that were being used for her house. She was so appreciative of all of the work that the group was doing for her. We left those who were working at the house there and went to the orphanage. I was excited about the experience. We were greeted by children who wanetd attention.
Charlie gave us a tour of the orphange which consisted of lots of houses, play areas, a gym, soccer field, etc. I was greeted with hugs and went in search of the little kids. I found them! I came upon the little playground where the children who were 2-4 were playing. I spent my morning on the playground with these children then we were taken back to the church for lunch. After lunch we made our rounds of dropping the teams off and went back to the orphanage. It was the rainy season in Costa Rica so it rained every afternoon and since the orphanage was so far up the mountain it was really cold in the rain. We spent the afternoon in the house with the 3 and 4 year olds. They were so much fun! They loved my sunglasses and my camera. The children wanted their pictures taken and then they wanted to see their pictures. :) I was happy to do it :). About 30 minutes before time to go Elizabeth, one of the other adult counselors from our group came and told me that she had found a baby. I immediately had to go see him. He was a beautiful 10 month old who has a trach. I got to hold him and then had to leave.
We picked up the groups and headed to the church for dinner. We went back to the compound after dinner and spent the evening playing cards and talking.
I chose to "work" at the orphanage. Monday morning we had breakfast at the church in Guadalupe and then split up into our groups to go to the different work sights. We took the group to the school and got to tour the campus, it was a neat school. They have seperate buildings for speech/language, vision, motor, mental challenges (this is what they referred to as the building where children with down syndrome, autism, etc. are serviced), in addition to a an administrative building and dentist office that services the children, families, and staff. There are several playground areas, walkways, sensory gardens and adaptive equipment throughtout the campus. We left the group who was going to be working there making more walkways and working on the administrative building flooring. Then we went to the house and it was a tiny little place in a very bad neighborhood, we were able to walk down and see where they would be building the house. It was a lady names Trinidad who had been praying for Charlie and his work for a long time. Trinidad is living in a shed with her 2 dogs to protect the materials that were being used for her house. She was so appreciative of all of the work that the group was doing for her. We left those who were working at the house there and went to the orphanage. I was excited about the experience. We were greeted by children who wanetd attention.
Charlie gave us a tour of the orphange which consisted of lots of houses, play areas, a gym, soccer field, etc. I was greeted with hugs and went in search of the little kids. I found them! I came upon the little playground where the children who were 2-4 were playing. I spent my morning on the playground with these children then we were taken back to the church for lunch. After lunch we made our rounds of dropping the teams off and went back to the orphanage. It was the rainy season in Costa Rica so it rained every afternoon and since the orphanage was so far up the mountain it was really cold in the rain. We spent the afternoon in the house with the 3 and 4 year olds. They were so much fun! They loved my sunglasses and my camera. The children wanted their pictures taken and then they wanted to see their pictures. :) I was happy to do it :). About 30 minutes before time to go Elizabeth, one of the other adult counselors from our group came and told me that she had found a baby. I immediately had to go see him. He was a beautiful 10 month old who has a trach. I got to hold him and then had to leave.
We picked up the groups and headed to the church for dinner. We went back to the compound after dinner and spent the evening playing cards and talking.
Sunday
We got up, had breakfast at the church and set out for a day of sight seeing. We headed up the mountain to see a volcano and waterfalls. We went to Volcan Poas, which is an active volcano, it hasn't gone off since 1989...glad we were safe :). It was beautiful and amazing to see. Then we hiked up the mountain (8600 ft above sea level) to see a crater that had been made by the volcano and is now filled with water. We hike back down the mountain to the bus. We went on up the mountain in the bus to see waterfalls. There was a huge waterfall that you could walk behind, very neat, slippery, and scary. :) After lots of pictures and exploring it was back to the bus to go on up the mountain to a hummingbird sanctuary. There were hummingbirds everywhere and you could see the waterfalls from there. We had lunch at a neat little restaurant that had wonderful drinks of fruit in water or milk. The fruit in water was like pureed fruit (I had strawberry and it was very good) and the ones with milk were like milkshakes. That night we had dinner at the church and planned for our work week.
We could choose between 3 sights to work at. One group was building a house from the ground up for a lady who lived in Guadalupe. The second group was working at the largest school in central america for children with special needs. The final group was going to work at an orphanage that was home to 80 children from the age of 10 months-12 years old who had been physically or sexually abused.
We headed back to the compound for the night.
We could choose between 3 sights to work at. One group was building a house from the ground up for a lady who lived in Guadalupe. The second group was working at the largest school in central america for children with special needs. The final group was going to work at an orphanage that was home to 80 children from the age of 10 months-12 years old who had been physically or sexually abused.
We headed back to the compound for the night.
Details...from the beginning (Saturday)
We met at Biltmore United Methodist Church Saturday morning at 6:15 am, took a charter bus to the Charlotte NC airport and flew to San jose Costa Rica.
Saturday afternoon we were picked up at the airport and taken to the "compound." The compound as we called it was a church, the girls stayed in the parsonage and the boys were in the recreation room behind our house. It was behind 2 locked gates in downtown Tivas. It was not the best part of town, most places around us had locked gates and razor wire around their places. We had a meeting with Charlie, the missionary about what to do/not to do. We were not able to go out of the compound after dark, we could not flush the toilet paper, the showers were called suicide showers because there was an electrical thing that the water run through (so be really careful and wear rubber soled shoes in the shower), there was no air conditioning.
It was rainy season there, which meant that it rained every afternoon and evening which cooled things off. We picked our beds and got settled in before going to dinner at a church in Guadalupe.
After dinner we walked in the rain 2 1/2 blocks to the internet cafe and had to wait in line to check our email. It was a fast trip because it was cold, dark, and raining.
Saturday afternoon we were picked up at the airport and taken to the "compound." The compound as we called it was a church, the girls stayed in the parsonage and the boys were in the recreation room behind our house. It was behind 2 locked gates in downtown Tivas. It was not the best part of town, most places around us had locked gates and razor wire around their places. We had a meeting with Charlie, the missionary about what to do/not to do. We were not able to go out of the compound after dark, we could not flush the toilet paper, the showers were called suicide showers because there was an electrical thing that the water run through (so be really careful and wear rubber soled shoes in the shower), there was no air conditioning.
It was rainy season there, which meant that it rained every afternoon and evening which cooled things off. We picked our beds and got settled in before going to dinner at a church in Guadalupe.
After dinner we walked in the rain 2 1/2 blocks to the internet cafe and had to wait in line to check our email. It was a fast trip because it was cold, dark, and raining.
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