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.