Day of action of giving thanks

'El dia de accion de gracias' is how they translate into Spanish, Thanksgiving Day, although it's not celebrated here. In order to prepare all the food in time and for it to feel more like Thanksgiving, we took the day off of school. All of our team collaborated and made all the traditional Thanksgiving foods. However, chicken was made in place of turkey because turkey is REALLY expensive here. It was similar, though, they are like cousins, right? ; ) So, we got together that evening with the Dixons and Janzens and had an amazing Thanksgiving fiesta and hang out time! It was also rough, though, not being at home with my own family and missing hanging out with them. I'm definitely looking forward to when they get to come and visit me here!!!

We had to go back to school on Friday, which wasn't very Thanksgivingy feeling and we were kind of exhausted, but the teachers were very understanding. Language school is going pretty well, for the most part. There are definitely those rules and exceptions to the rules that exist in every language which cause plenty of frustrations, but overall I think we're moving along pretty well. There are 3 levels of books in our language school- beginner, intermediate and advanced (imagine that!) and each level has a number of books. Last week, we actually got moved on to the Advanced 1 book! Exciting! But also tiring and confusing trying to keep all that we've learned straight. Please continue to pray for us in this area of understanding and being able to speak what we know.

Saturday we got to go and pick out our very own Christmas tree to make our apartment feel more homey during the holiday season. We weren't exactly sure how we were going to get the tree back to our apartment, not having a car and all. So, we just went hoping that we'd figure it out there. After we picked out the tree we wanted, we asked one of the taxi drivers if it would be possible for one of them to help us get our tree home. So, the guy started asking around and found another guy with a mini van taxi that was willing to take us and the tree. So, he helped us strap it to the top of the mini van taxi and helped to unload it and everything and it wasn't even really expensive! We had found some lights and ornaments at the Costa Rican equivalent of a Dollar Store and decorated it all up. Its very cute and makes us super happy every time we see it!

Soooooo, Monday was really exciting, as we got to go to the office of Food For The Hungry, meet the staff and talk with the director. It was good to here more from him about their vision and to be able to see their facility. They seem to have a lot in common with the vision that SI has, so we may be able to partner with them in some form in the future. They even offered to help us with anything that we may need, which was encouraging to know that we have someone to call if a need arises.

Well, I feel like things have been picking up a little bit, but I know that it'll be nothing compared to when we begin working in intentional ministry in January. Please pray that God would continue to prepare our hearts and even emotions for that time, as I still feel that I'm in a semi-fragile state. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for diving into full on ministry, but I want my heart to be right and full, so that I can really pour into others when the time comes. And, oh, it will come! So, please continue to keep me in your prayers for that and for my finances, as well. Thank you to many of you, my support has come in leaps and bounds, but I've still got a little to go before I am fully funded. Thanks again for being faithful and God bless!

Con cariño,

Cailah




Our whole team at Thanksgiving: Erin Janzen, Jeff Dixon, Jeremy Janzen, Tracey Dixon, Krysta Williams, Judah Janzen, Sawyer Dixon, Ella Janzen and Olivia Dixon




Our Thanksgiving spread




The kiddie table: Judah, Sawyer, Ella and Olivia









Krysta putting the finishing touches on our beautiful tree!

non-fair weather friends...

Hey All (6 of you that read this =)!
I hope you are doing superb-ly (?, superb?) I can no longer speak any language "well." This is what occurs when your brain turns into a kind of mush that confuses rules and words in languages that you know and/or are learning. Sometimes, Krysta and I find ourselves speaking a more gring-a-fied spanglish, inserting words in spanish (with English pronunciation) into our otherwise English sentences. For example, I would say, "Alright, I'm gonna get ready to acostarme (go to bed)." While it sounds, and may actually be a little crazy, we actually understand each other fine this way and I feel that we are on the verge of doing it sin darnos cuenta (without realizing it ; ).

This last Saturday we had the opportunity of meeting and talking with a young couple- the husband is Costa Rican, the wife is North American, but has lived in Costa Rica for about 8 years. The husband actually used to work with YWAM and the wife works with Food for the Hungry in and area called Los Guidos, which is in Desamparados. This is an area that we have strongly been considering going to work in. Talking with this couple was AMAZINGLY encouraging as the vision that they have, as well as for Food for the Hungry, seems to match the vision we have for Students International Costa Rica. We are hoping to meet with the director and staff from Food for the Hungry some time next week. We look forward to being able to share and potentially partner with this ministry in the future. It was really exciting to hear that other people have the same heart for these people as we do and to be able to learn more through their knowledge and experience. We'll see what happens!

In other matters.....it has been COLD lately!!!!! Okay, we realize that in comparison to some places, what we are feeling is not really that cold, however, it is colder than we expected and a lot colder than we have ever experienced in Costa Rica. Please witness for yourselves:



A Costa Rican snowman!!!!




Okay....so, this snowman was actually made from an overabundance of ice in our freezer. But he held up pretty well!


The other day in the grocery store, Krysta and I, no joke, saw a lady wearing a furry wintery hat and a long wintery coat--inside--in Costa Rica. Yeah- we think its cold, but not that cold! It was kinda crazy. But there has been a lot of rain and wind and sideways rain and clouds and misty rain. I think its probably been almost 2 weeks in which we haven't really seen the sun much. Not my and Krysta's favorite, but, hey, we're figuring it out.

On a few side notes, after two weeks of being the only two students in our language school, two older women from the states have come to study for a little bit. Their names are Francie and Susanna and they are really sweet and fun! Then, last Saturday or sometime around then, Krysta and I got to watch a little demonstration of Costa Rican cheerleaders in the parking lot of a McDonalds near our apartment. They were actually pretty good- a little scary at times (near power lines and all), but overall very entertaining. They made me miss gymnastics and Krysta miss dance. But they still made my heart happy, as did meeting the new students at our school. So, things are going relatively well- not without their dips and low points of frustrations with language and missing family, friends and home, but we press on! =)

and so are the days of our lives....

So, as the weeks go on, I feel like we've begun to fall into our own groove of things. It's nice to not feel completely clueless ALL of the time. There are still plenty of opportunities to do so, though! This has been a really good time of sorting through all these new experiences and feelings, so that when January comes around and we intentionally begin ministry, hopefully we'll have gotten a pretty firm grasp on things. As for now, we are taking advantage of this time to really focus on language and cultural learning.

This last week, Krysta and I were the only two students in our language school- the other six or so students that had been there before left. Kind of crazy! But it was a good week. On Friday, during our conversation class, we got to go with our teacher to the National Museum. It wasn't super big, but it was really neat to see. They have a beautiful butterfly garden there. We got to walk around, dodging all of the amazingly colored and huge butterflies. We also got to see some really cool exhibits of Costa Rica's history, as well as an amazing wood sculpture exhibit. It was funny because as our little language school class was walking around with our teacher, there were a bunch of elementary school students that came around at the same time- we fit right in! ; )

On Saturday, Krysta and I were able to hang out with Tracey, Olivia and Sawyer Dixon for a while (Jeff was out of town). We went to the Feria (local farmer's market) with them, had fresh fruit smoothies and then hung out for a while. It was a good time talking with Tracey and the kids are always entertaining. That night, Krysta and I had the amazing and unexpected opportunity of going to the Russian Ballet at the Costa Rican National Theater. This was exciting for both of us! Well, maybe a little more so for Krysta, as she has a background in ballet, while I just pretend to. The tickets were a lot cheaper than anything we would have ever found in the states and we had great seats! But I did feel bad because there was a little girl sitting behind me and she had to sit on 2+ pillows to be able to see past my big, ballet-blocking head. I felt less bad afterwards when we were walking out and I saw that probably about 1/5 of those in the audience had to sit on pillows. Afterwards, Krysta and I went to the Gran Hotel, a place we have been a number of times with teams, and enjoyed a nice cup of cafe con leche there, which was a perfect ending to a great day/week!





Krysta is in awe of the butterflies


the infamous Morph butterfly




Sawyer strapping himself into his booster seat


Then he just crawled and walked around with it on for a good while.


And then decided to climb the toy box, still strapped in. No worries, he didn't fall.


Krysta and I, pre-ballet, very excited!


You couldn't use a flash inside the theater, but you get "the picture"....heh.


Krysta enjoying her coffee at the Gran Hotel, after the ballet.

Brain drain in a happy home full of produce

Hello All!
A lot has happened since I wrote last, or at least that's how its felt. Let's see......Krysta arrived safe and sound! The Monday after she arrived (last Monday) we started language school. The first few days we were still staying at the Dixon's house, so we had to hop on 2 buses, taking about 30 minutes to get there. It wasn't too bad, but we thought that having somewhere closer would make it a lot easier and save on bus fare. Our classes go from 8:15am- 12:15pm. We begin with 2 hours of grammar class, in which Krysta and I are the only 2 students, which makes it pretty much like private tutoring- its nice! Then, we have a short break to grab some coffee if we like and then we go back for 2 hours of conversation class. There have been a few times in which we've had this class with one or two other people, but for the most part, it's just us 2 in that class as well. This is good too, it's just a little more difficult for me. Can you imagine or even picture me talking for 2 hours straight?! Yeah- me neither, which is why I'm glad that Krysta is in the class and our teachers tend to talk quite a bit. No worries- I do talk, I just practice listening maybe a little bit more ; ) It's good- we're going over stuff that's kind of review, but also going over the rules is good for me to ensure that I continue improving my Spanish. Usually by noon, my brain has been drained of all of its functioning juices, leaving me in a catatonic sort of state---and then I go home and attempt to let all that we just learned sink in. I think its working ; )

Outside of all the school stuff, we've been pretty busy. Last Tuesday, Krysta and I were able to check out an apartment that Jeff Dixon had found for us. We'd really been hoping that this apartment would work out, as its super close to our school- you just go down the street from the school and turn left at the giant cactus to get there (I love that the directions include a giant cactus). We met the landlord, took a look and decided that it would work out great for us! So, the landlord, who is this super nice, older, American man drove us around the neighborhood in his car showing us all the good places to shop and whatnot. He did this on more than one occasion. So, Thursday of last week, Jeremy Janzen and a guy, Roni, that they know from their language school, helped Krysta and I move in! The next few days we spent finding places for everything and stocking up on food and everything. It's been SOOOOOO good to have a place of our own to come home too- it definitely makes it feel more permanent. If you'd like to see pictures prior to our moving in, you can check them out here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/krystaleanne9/Apartment#


I also made a little video tour after we moved in, which you can check out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDtQykhzsg

On Sunday our landlord, John, offered to take us to the feria (farmer's market), which takes place once a week. One of the biggest ones happens to be right down the street from us! So, we took off Sunday at 7am to check out what all the feria had to offer. John was super sweet, kind of like a grandpa type. He bought bags for each of us to carry all of our purchases around. And when we arrived, he took us to a little stand and bought us churros! Then, he took us around to the hundreds of stands, giving us little tips and showing us who had the best prices. So, we stocked up for the week, collecting a varitable cornucopia of fruits and veggies. Needless to say, we will not be suffering from scurvy any time soon!

Because we now have a more permanent living situation, we have also set up a phone line through our magic jack (via the internet) and it is a California number! I also have my skype account set up and sign on fairly often, and we are also able to receive regular mail through our language school. So, if you would like to have any of this information, just let me know and I'll e-mail it to you! Please continue to pray for my support to come in, as well as this time of preparation for the work that we'll be starting in January. Thank you!!!

Con cariño,

Cailah =)

planes, trains and auto-buses...

Hey everyone!
So, I have just about completed my first week here in Costa Rica and, although it hasn't been jam-packed, I feel like I've experienced quite a bit. So, I arrived to San Jose, Costa Rica, last Saturday around 9ish pm. Customs took a while and hauling my fatty luggage around didn't make that process any easier or faster.....but Jeff Dixon (director of SI Costa Rica) was there to pick me up from the airport and it was good to see a familiar face. So we took a taxi back to the Dixons house, where I'd be staying until we figured out a living situation for Krysta and I. Jeff and Tracey (his wife), along with their kids, have been super welcoming and helpful during this first week. The next day was a low-key day of going to the park and visiting with the Janzens (another family that's part of our SI team here. On Monday, the Dixons and Janzens didn't have class at their language school, so we made a trip (along with one other family they know) to the Volcano, Poas. It was incredible! Not too much of a hike, but with amazing views! That day we also visited a place called Sarchi, in which they are known for their handmade furniture.
During the following days, we were able to check out an apartment that looks pretty positive for Krysta and I, which is VERY exciting!!!! The only thing is that, we haven't been able to check out the inside yet because there is currently a tenant in there and the guy that owns it wants to make sure that guy is out and get it cleaned before we see it. But judging from the outside, I don't really see how bad the inside could be. This apartment would be a huge answer to prayer, though, because its in a safe place, with a 24 hour security guard and gates, within walking distance to our language school and anything else we might need, its very affordable and the guy is willing to lease it to us for a shorter period. Soooo, it's pretty much perfect, or so it seems....we will get to check out the inside on Monday and I'll keep you all updated on it. On our way back from the apartment, the rain came and poured and we got drenched, which I expect is just the first of many times to come =)
Other events from this week include Tracey and I (neither of whom are super great with directions), venturing into downtown San Jose. We made it there and back fine, thanks to Tracey! We walked around a little and then had coffee at a little cafe we found. It was really nice. Then on our way back, when we were on the bus, we were stopped, along with the rest of traffic, when we heard a honking kind of noise--which is not unusual, by any means. But this honking kept going, sounded kind of different and it kept getting closer. So, we looked out the window and lo and behold, it was a train! And we were on the tracks, blocking it, but no worries, it was going slow enough to stop. But I guess some people either didn't notice that or were still freaked out, because a bunch of people from the back of the bus started making a mad dash for the front- I have to admit, I was a little unnerved by it, but we were in no real danger because the train had stopped, yet it continued to honk/blow it's whistley-horn-ma-bob-thingy. Sooooo, that was interesting and fun!
This week I've also had a number of opportunities to go out and explore the city on my own.....many of which I have not taken ; ) HOWEVER, I have been working my way up to it! I've made my way around the Dixon's neighborhood a few times, but today, I took it a few steps further. I took two buses on my own to where Krysta and my language school is. I spent some good time with my good friend Joe (cup of Joe, that is----coffee) and a book. Then, I found my way back and did it all without getting lost or even missing any stops, which is pretty good for me! Not super exciting, but it made me happy. It was kinda funny, though, I used the bathroom in McDonalds and while I was washing my hands, I asked the lady next to me (in Spanish) if she had the time. I don't know if she just didn't hear what I asked or didn't understand, maybe she just assumed I wasn't speaking Spanish, so she didn't try to hear or understand, because she thought I was asking her something about the water faucets. They were automatic, so she was showing me that I just needed to keep my hands under them to keep the water coming. But eventually, after multiple times of me asking her the same thing in different ways (and pointing to the watch on her wrist), she showed it to me so I could see the time. Sooooo, either my Spanish is WAY off or cross-cultural communication has a lot more to do with it than just language.
Well, Krysta comes tomorrow and that is exciting! We're looking to start language school on Monday and move into an apartment soon, so things are moving along quickly! But I will keep you all updated and try to write more often, so that these won't be as long every time. I know that if something is super long, I may not be as inclined to read it, but this is all just adding to the rambling........so we'll be in touch! =)

*below are pictures from our trip to the volcano, Poas*



Sawyer, Jeff and Tracey using what our van driver called a "poor man's umbrella"


the mouth of the volcano


Sawyer, Olivia, Ella and Judah overlooking the volcano


Olivia and Ella riding in the van


rows and rows of coffee on the way up to the volcano

Make like a tree...and leave-ing!!!!

The time is here! Tomorrow I head down to LA, then Saturday my flight leaves around noon. And then it's Costa Rica living for me- Pura Vida! I'm on a little bit of a roller coaster of emotions, but I'm confident in God's calling. I'm still trusting that He'll bring in the remainder of the money I need and going to Costa Rica on that faith. I very much appreciate all your prayers and support and I look forward to sharing in this journey with you!

-Cailah =)

MTI and beyond!

So, I meant to have written this a while back, but things got pretty crazy busy, pretty fast and they just now are calming down for a few days at least. MTI continued to be intense and draining, but the good kind. We learned a lot about just our personalities and tendencies, becoming more aware of how we may respond to things on the field, such as conflict and stress. More than just being aware, we learned how we can better handle these situations and deal with them in a healthy and Biblical way. It was a time full of amazing teachings, challenging lessons to learn and incredible, bonding relationships. I will definitely treasure the things I learned during this time, as I believe they will prove extremely helpful on the field.
My departure is nearing! And its becoming more and more real, which has left a little bit of a bittersweet taste in my mouth. I feel like I've waited a long time to go into full time missions and it is finally in God's timing for me to do so. But along with that comes the realization that I will be away from my family, friends and home. And even more than that, people's lives are going to go on even when I'm not around. I know that's kind of a self-centered realization but, hey, aren't we all, to some degree? Overall, I know that it will be super hard to miss out on what is going on at home, but I also know that God has called me to Costa Rica for this time and for His purpose and there is no other place I'd rather be than in God's prime placement.
As I get ready to head off this upcoming Saturday, I would very much appreciate your prayers in a few specific areas: support- I'm still in need of funds. I have my plane ticket and everything prepared to leave Saturday, so I'm trusting God that He'll bring in the money needed. Also, Krysta and I are looking for somewhere to live, at least up until January. We have a few options, but we still don't have anything set yet. Lastly, please pray for the transition of moving, living in a new place and starting language school there. Well, I'll be writing and I hope you'll continue to read and write, as well. Because, although I will not be as physically present in everyone's life on a day to day basis, I'm planning on being very present in EVERY other way. So, we'll be in communication, yes? Yes! =)

*below are pictures from our time in MTI- Palmer Lake, CO*



The view driving on our way up to Pike's Peak


Krysta, Erika and I froze while jumping for joy on top of Pike's Peak


A double rainbow we witnessed from the balcony at MTI


Garden of the gods- outside of Colorado Springs


Beautiful Colorado skies



Our amazing SPLICE group roasting marshmallows around the fire our last night together


Up and coming SI staff in our SPLICE program. (l-r): Aaron and Rachel Kelly- Guatemala, me and Krysta- Costa Rica, Heather Pasma- Guatemala, Caroline and Ryan Holloway- Dominican Republic--- all SUPER COOL people!!!