Update from Heather

We’ve finally arrived! It feels so good to finally get settled and we love it here! Although we learned a lot of things during our time of preparation through the required training, fundraising, selling our possessions, and saying goodbye, we are so glad to be in this next phase of culture and language learning. I can’t express how good it is for our family to feel settled and to begin our missionary adventures here in Costa Rica.

We live in a small 3 bedroom one bathroom house with a beautiful view of the mountains in every direction. I love the palm trees and tropical plants. Most people here have no yard or a very small yard, but the Lord has blessed us with a nice little backyard where the kids can play. We even have a mango and papaya tree! The weather here is very nice. I’m guessing around 80 degrees in the morning and then the temperature drops as the rain comes in the afternoon. It rains every day anywhere from 2 to 10 hours. We feel very blessed to be here.

The language school is perfect for our family. There is a school for the girls and a preschool for the boys. Praise the Lord the kids have adjusted very well and all 4 really like their classes. The school used to be limited to missionary kids but is now open to Costa Ricans. This is a blessing as it allows our children to know the culture even more and it opens a door for our whole family to know Costa Rican families. It also gives us the opportunity to share the gospel to with some who have not heard the good news. About half of the students are Costa Rican. The girls learn their subjects in English and take Spanish class every day. The boys are cared for by very sweet Costa Rican women who speak to them in Spanish all day.

Jeff and I are divided into small classes of 5-10 people who are at the same level of learning. Being back in school has been fun yet demanding. It is quit a different experience going to school and having the responsibilities of four children. One of my favorite parts of the school experience is being with so many other missionaries. We have student led chapel twice a week. It is such a privilege to worship with and learn from other student’s testimonies and insights into Scripture. It is neat to hear their stories of how God has brought them to this place and is bringing them to countries all over Latin America!

We live about a mile from the school and walk everyday. We walk on bumpy roads and sidewalks (and often in the rain) which takes about 15-20 minutes. Pray for safety during these walks as there is danger from traffic, stray dogs, and muggers. Cars zoom by and pedestrians here don’t have the right of way, but have the right to get out of the way. Also a few weeks ago Jeff was bit by a dog and had to go to the hospital. Thankfully there has only been one case of rabies in San Jose in the last 10 years.

We do love it here and feel so thankful to all of our partners for being a part of expanding the Kingdom by sending us. Costa Rica is a very needy place. I thought some of you would be interested in some details of adjustments we are getting used to. We don’t have hot water but we do have a widow-maker for the shower, which allows some warm water on very low pressure. We don’t have a bath tub but use a big Tupperware type bowl and boiled water for bathing the boys. We do not flush our toilet paper but throw it in the trash (which is very hard to remember!) The kids must have shoes on to play outside due to parasites and a certain slug that will make one sick. We don’t have a dishwasher or garbage disposal, but do have a good size refrigerator, washer, and dryer. There is an incredible farmer’s market 5 min walk from our house each Saturday. We load up on inexpensive beautiful fruits and veggies for the week and wash everything in bleach water.

We´re back online!

Our new puppy Canela, which means cinnamon.

Hey everybody, we´re finally connected to cyberspace. We arrived in Costa Rica on August 15th. We are attending The Spanish Language Institute. The girls are enrolled in a Christian school, and the boys attend day care while we are in classes. Although the separation was initially hard for the boys, they have grown to enjoy their classes. Last Saturday Sammy said, "But I want to go to school today." That is a huge praise. Both Heather and I did well on our first exams.

Getting an internet connection has given us an interesting glimpse into Costa Rican culture. All the "t"s must be crossed and the "i"s dotted on any paper work. I was tempted to get angry and frustrated, but the people were just so nice. The employee who helped us with the paper work gave me his personal cell number and had me talk to his wife in English at home. It took three weeks to get the paperwork in order. Then we had to wait for almost two weeks for someone to come to the house and wire in a connection. Now we have internet service as long as it´s not raining, which it does everyday. We are beginning to learn how to slow down and be patient.

The rain is another tool teaching us to slow down. We don´t have a car, so we either walk or take public transportion everywhere. Every afternoon it rains hard. Traffic slows down and pedestrians often stop where they are and wait out the rain. One of the good things about this slower pace of life is that the people spend more time talking with one another. We had some Tico (Costa Rican) friends over, the rain started and they stayed all afternoon. This friendly/relational lifestyle is great for language learning.

Yesterday, the girls had two Tica friends over from school. Their parents own a local bakery we pass on the way to school everyday. Their bread rivals anything we had in Europe last January. It´s a good thing we are doing a lot of walking.

I´ve got to pick up the girls from school and study for a test tomorrow. But we´ll get some pictures posted soon.