Gone and back again

I am back in Costa Rica. I was in the states, mostly California, for about 3 weeks. It was a whole lot of craziness. It was amazing being able to be home and spend time with family (especially my little niece who was 2 months old at the time) all together and individually, as well as visit with friends. I was really blessed just to be able to rest and relax and go on bike rides with my mom or a friend, have lunch or coffee with my dad, hang out with each of my brothers and sister-in-law and niece and even just sit and be with or around people that I don't get to see very often. It really was a blessing. It was also a very good time of refreshment to prepare me for the craziness that would pick right back up upon coming back to Costa Rica. I've been back a week now and it feels like a month has gone by. Our first ever semester students from Fresno Pacific University arrived last week, so we took a few days to orientate them and get them situated. I think it's going to be a great 4 months for them here. Other than that, I've been getting things in order in the house, with the car and to start everything up again in Las Fuentes next week. Some things have gone smoother than others, but just to give you some idea of what a day could and actually did look like: Today I woke up early but also very excited because our widow-maker (electrical shower head water heater- yes, it's probably as dangerous as it sounds) was going to be replaced by one that works, thus giving us warm showers for the first time since I got back (there were quite a few previous attempts at fixing it). This was done by our very kind retired electrician neighbor, Don Rodrigo. He came over, installed the new shower head, no complications, no one got electricuted- it was a complete success! So, I started off my day with a much appreciated warm shower! Then, I had planned to meet with Jehudi, who works with me in Las Fuentes, in the SI office to go over some stuff. As I went to leave, I could not help but be aware of the flat tire......so, I hurried to catch the bus, as I was already running good and late. I finally got there and we got a little flyer made to put up in the Fuent- it turned out super cute, I'm not gonna lie. So, after that, Jehudi said that he needed to go by the hardware store to get some stuff and he would help me find a car jack, if I wanted (because we have a car jack, but it doesn't really work with our car. i'm sure you're asking why, right? yeah- i don't know). So, we headed out. We arrived to the hardware store only to discover that they were out of any car jacks that were not ginormous and expensive, and so I would have to wait on that (Jeff offered to come later to help me change the tire with some of his tools =). So, then, I headed over to the grocery store because I had to pay an electricity bill and that's how you do it here. So, I waited in the line and when it came my turn, the lady informed me that that system was currently down and so I could not pay that bill at that time. So, I then just walked home to work on something that maybe wouldn't be so affected by outward circumstances and then feel like an unavoidable failure. And that probably actually sounds more negative than I feel. But I feel like this is kind of more what the reality of living here in Costa Rica feels like sometimes. And I felt somewhat frustrated, of course, but I don't know if it was just having a different mindset being back in Costa Rica or if it was just THAT good to start off the day with a warm shower, but I feel like God's just really helped me to have peace with all these little things and not worry about what seem like failed attempts adding more things/stress to my to do list. And if I do start to feel stressed I might just have to decompress in what sometimes feels like the, oh so spiritual act of taking a very appreciated warm shower. =)