a lot and a little bit of everything

Sooooo, I know I've said in the last few blogs that I'd be better about updating my blog more often.....however, that hasn't really happened. And for that, once again, I apologize. Alrighty, where to begin....

After the women from the Well left, we had a team from Virginia for about a week or so. They were an amazing group and we wished we could have had them here more time. After the Virginia team left, we had about a week where we were just working at our sites. The Thursday of that week (3 days before leaving for the jungle for a week), Krysta and I came home one afternoon to find that a pipe in our bathroom ceiling had busted and water had flooded our bathroom, with the ceiling falling and all. Our upstairs neighbor refused to stop using his water, that was falling into our bathroom. Up until this point, we had just accepted things we encountered as little quirks. However, between the mold that was growing on Krysta's bedroom wall, the bathroom ceiling caving in and an upstairs neighbor who was a lot less than ideal, we decided that this may not be a long term place for us. So that night (being Thursday night), we prayed that if God wanted us to move that He would miraculously provide a place that weekend. Which finding a place in a matter of a few days would be miraculous, since finding this last place involved over 50 phone calls and 9 or so visits to check out places.

So, we bought a newspaper the next morning (Friday) and looked for places to rent. We found one that would be in a safe neighborhood, was within our price range and sounded fantastic. We called immediately and the phone didn't ring, but we heard someone saying, "alo?" I guess the lady had gone to call someone at the exact moment I called, so she had no choice but to answer. We made arrangements to go check out the house that morning---trying not to get our hopes up too much, as sometimes the descriptions of places could sound amazing and they would turn out to be falling apart. As it turned out, the place seemed just about perfect! A few things would need adjusting, so we took some time to pray about it that afternoon and felt that this was an answer to our prayer. SO, after calling back and letting the landlady know we wanted the place, we made copies of the necessary paperwork, went to the lawyer's office, bought some paint, made copies of keys and went home to begin packing. Aiyla and Blake helped with all the packing, which helped to make it happen faster and with an extra pep in our step ; ) Thursday night, we had a group come in from Texas, as well- they would be part of the jungle trip that left on Sunday. Soooo, our Thursday and Friday were pretty insane.

Then, Saturday rolled around and we finished packing stuff up in the morning. The group from Texas was gracious enough to offer to help us move, which was a ginormous help! We also had another group from California and 2 individuals flying in that day for the jungle trip. It was a little tricky trying to maneuver around the airport pickups and moving everything, especially when our car's clutch blew up on an airport run, creating a very memorable experience in having to push it on the highway - sorry guys ; ) So, Saturday, everything got moved and we got our rooms in some kind of order.

Early Sunday morning, we got up and headed out to go to the jungle for a week. I wouldn't really recommend that process or deciding to move and doing it in 3 days and then leaving for a week, but God blessed us with a ton of people to help make it possible and then an amazing team that we got to spend a week with in the jungle! It was stressful, for sure, but it could've been A LOT worse.

IN THE JUNGLE......
We had the group from Texas, a group from Visalia, CA and two individuals, as well as our entire SI Costa Rica staff- it was quite a group! It rained a lot while we were in the jungle, of which I wasn't completely devastated because we got to have that time as fellowship with one another. But, besides that, we did get a lot of work done. We painted A TON. There was a group that worked on a ditch- cleaning it out, another group laid block and yet another group laid culvert. So, we had quite a bit going on. It was a good group that was enjoyable to work with. It was hard to see them go, especially knowing that they were the last group of the summer.

SINCE THEN...
I made a last minute trip home to renew my tourist visa (I have to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours) and surprise my parents. I was only there for about 3 days, which was FAR too quick, especially since I hadn't been home or seen my brothers in 8 months, or my parents in like 6 months. While it was hard to be back for such a short time, it was also very refreshing, rejuvenating and a HUGE blessing! Not to mention a fatty surprise for my parents and some of my friends ; ) It was great!

The week after getting back, I was back in Las Fuentes, working full force. I started up another session of tutoring on Thursday afternoons. So, my weekly schedule includes, English club and Coffee time on Tuesdays, Tutoring and English class on Wednesdays, Tutoring on Thursdays and home visits on Fridays. Things are progressing as I learn what is and isn't working. I'm definitely challenged in all of this, but looking to God and giving Him the opportunity through these challenges.

This last weekend, we also had a post-summer staff retreat/getaway to the beach. We stayed in a house together on the beach and had a good time hanging out and exploring tide pools- all going at our own pace =) It didn't feel like near enough time, but I believe it was a relaxing weekend for us all. There was only one minor thing that happened that we would have preferred it if it didn't, which was on the way back, the thermostat in our car stopped working, so the car overheated and the fan wouldn't turn on to cool it back down. A man stopped and helped us for what we hope was a fair price and since then the car has been in and out of the shop, working as good as before!

So, wow! That's a ton. I'm sorry for that, but I will post a bunch of pictures so you guys can have a visual of it all. Thanks for reading. Love you all and God bless! =)