Thanksgiving

Even though Thanksgiving has come & gone, allow me to give the Lord public thanks:

(This was made by Kevin & Michelle Suwyn's sweet kids for Thanksgiving)

1) Thank you for a family here in Costa Rica to celebrate the holidays with: The Vida Joven & YoungLife staff gathered at Kevin (our regional director) and Michelle (YoungLives director) Suwyn's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone brought a dish for 30 people. I was in charge of the classic green bean casserole! Everyone there wrote what they were thankful for this year on a construction paper leaf. Leaves from the previous 10 years decorated the room around us-such an awesome tradition! It was a great evening of football, food, and great friends/family!

Jessie, Alex, and Jeni (with Lucas)

 Getting ready for games after dinner & dessert (notice the leaves)

 Boo, Pan, Sharon, & Daniel

2) The Suwyn's kids: As many of you know, I am generally NOT a kid-person. However, the Suwyn's kids are always a breath of fresh air to be around- 3 boys & a girl. The EXACT family I would love to have one day (maybe one more boy in the somewhere). They're crazy, hilarious, and Samara (the girl) and I have a sweet connection! They also have the blondest hair in Costa Rica. 

Sweet Samara

 Jonathan sporting an interesting way to wear a hat...

3) Theme park days with the best of friends: Friday, after Thanksgiving, we went to Parque Diversiones (a theme park) in San Jose. It's no Six Flags, more like the Costa Rican Dollywood, but still so much fun! We spent 6 hours riding rides & eating your oh-so-healthy theme park food...

About to ride the one roller coaster they had

 Hot dogs with everything! Literally,everything...you don't want to know. 

Random Mario & Luigi dressed guys?

4) Visitors from the U S of A: Alex's boyfriend, Andrew, came to visit her for Thanksgiving all the way from South Carolina! It was so much fun to get of glimpse into friend's lives outside of our world here in Costa Rica. Also, it's just exciting to have a new english-speaking face around every now and then to spice things up! I'm Alex misses him already...(Friends, come see me!) 

Resounding, "Awwwww..."

5) AN IRON BOWL VICTORY & A FREE RIDE TO NEW ORLEANS FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Usually my Alabama football updates come first, but this one needed to be saved for last. The Crimson Tide embarrassed Auburn 42-14 Saturday evening in their 76th meeting in what as known as the Iron Bowl- easily the most intense rivalry in college football. The win couldn't have been a better way to finish our regular season and clinch a spot to play on college football's biggest stage on January 9th. This is HUGE for me because I'll be home for the championship game! If you can only make one game out of the year, it might as well be the National Championship, right?! I've been saying it all along, and now we're really going! I wouldn't miss cheering on the Tide in New Orleans for the world! ROLL TIDE! Now, LSU just needs to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship so we can get revenge for that November 5th loss!  

"Who is a god like you, who pardons & forgives the transgression of the remnant

of his inheritance? You do not show anger forever, but delight to show mercy.

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot & hurl 

all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19)