This will be my first blog post in a while that doesn't begin with an Alabama football update. I wish Alabama basketball was worth updating you on right now- but unfortunately not so much. I have faith in Anthony Grant (our coach) though; he's doing big things with our program. As always, Roll Tide.
Nicki & I had a good few weeks of alone time when we first arrived in the country, almost a month ago now, because our fellow staff members were at new staff training and the YoungLife All Staff Conference in Orlando, FL for 2 weeks. What I initially expected to be a slow start getting back to the country with their absence turned out to be a busy time full of YL contact work opportunities. Soccer is back and crazier than ever because the big international schools tournament is at the end of this month. Because we had so little time once we came back from vacations, I am helping the team with workouts outside of Tues/Thurs practices on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We've been combining Saturday morning workouts with lunch together or afternoons by the pool. It's been an awesome opportunity to spend some time with the team off the field.
On our last day without a full staff Nicki, her roommate from Venezuela- Saray, and I went to the beach for a quick day trip. We rode the bus for 2 hours to enjoy the majority of the day in Jaco. It was SO crowded because it's the dry, summer season and it was the weekend. Any time at the beach is still a good time though. Getting sunburnt in January was a new experience for me. No worries- when the sun got too hot, I retired to the local ice cream shop and enjoyed 3 ice cream cones; all different flavors. Yeah, 3.
Then things with YoungLife and WyldLife hit the ground running when Jessie, Ali, and Alex got back in the country. We had our first YoungLife and WyldLife last week; both of which I spoke at. YoungLife's theme was YoungLife ThugLife, so naturally Nicki & I (aka Penny & Dyme) performed one of our famous bilingual rap remixes- this time to Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now". WyldLife's theme was Wet n' Wyld if you can imagine what that's like with 11-13 year olds.
After WyldLife on Friday night, we loaded up the YL van with our student leaders to begin an overnight leadership retreat that we do at the beginning of each semester to plan YL & WL clubs. We spent the night at the Gamble's home in Guadalupe and stayed up late devouring chocolate chip cookies, guacamole, and chex mix. The next day we went bowling as a group before we had an intense planning session at the YoungLife office. Get this- there's only ONE bowling alley in the entire country of Costa Rica. That makes bowling much more exciting and unique here than if we were to go in the U.S.
There's one football game every year that Costa Ricans will actually care to watch, and, of course, that's the Super Bowl. So, to take advantage of this once-a-year interest, our sweet friend Mariana hosted a fantastic Super Bowl party! We had more food than we could eat and a great mix of American/Costa Rican/Venezuelan company. Congrats, Eli- you deserve it.
Nicki & I had a good few weeks of alone time when we first arrived in the country, almost a month ago now, because our fellow staff members were at new staff training and the YoungLife All Staff Conference in Orlando, FL for 2 weeks. What I initially expected to be a slow start getting back to the country with their absence turned out to be a busy time full of YL contact work opportunities. Soccer is back and crazier than ever because the big international schools tournament is at the end of this month. Because we had so little time once we came back from vacations, I am helping the team with workouts outside of Tues/Thurs practices on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We've been combining Saturday morning workouts with lunch together or afternoons by the pool. It's been an awesome opportunity to spend some time with the team off the field.
On our last day without a full staff Nicki, her roommate from Venezuela- Saray, and I went to the beach for a quick day trip. We rode the bus for 2 hours to enjoy the majority of the day in Jaco. It was SO crowded because it's the dry, summer season and it was the weekend. Any time at the beach is still a good time though. Getting sunburnt in January was a new experience for me. No worries- when the sun got too hot, I retired to the local ice cream shop and enjoyed 3 ice cream cones; all different flavors. Yeah, 3.
Me, Nicki, & Saray at El Barco ice cream shop in Jaco Beach
Not a bad day...
Then things with YoungLife and WyldLife hit the ground running when Jessie, Ali, and Alex got back in the country. We had our first YoungLife and WyldLife last week; both of which I spoke at. YoungLife's theme was YoungLife ThugLife, so naturally Nicki & I (aka Penny & Dyme) performed one of our famous bilingual rap remixes- this time to Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now". WyldLife's theme was Wet n' Wyld if you can imagine what that's like with 11-13 year olds.
After WyldLife on Friday night, we loaded up the YL van with our student leaders to begin an overnight leadership retreat that we do at the beginning of each semester to plan YL & WL clubs. We spent the night at the Gamble's home in Guadalupe and stayed up late devouring chocolate chip cookies, guacamole, and chex mix. The next day we went bowling as a group before we had an intense planning session at the YoungLife office. Get this- there's only ONE bowling alley in the entire country of Costa Rica. That makes bowling much more exciting and unique here than if we were to go in the U.S.
Here we are!
Some of our lovely ladies...
After a Saturday of bowling and planning came Super Bowl Sunday/Jessie's pre-birthday hike. First, the hike. Jessie turned 28 on Monday, and, after living in Costa Rica for 5 years, her birthday tradition has become going on a hike. Since Monday is our day at the office, we hiked to a gorgeous waterfall on Sunday morning. The weather was perfect, and Jessie and Nicki even braved the freezing cold water when we got to the falls.
The views on the hike were incredible- and you hike right out of my town!
Nicki & Alex on the trail
The waterfall!
Nicki- just livin' it up
There's one football game every year that Costa Ricans will actually care to watch, and, of course, that's the Super Bowl. So, to take advantage of this once-a-year interest, our sweet friend Mariana hosted a fantastic Super Bowl party! We had more food than we could eat and a great mix of American/Costa Rican/Venezuelan company. Congrats, Eli- you deserve it.
Mariana and her "gringas" enjoying the night
Finally, Jessie turned 28, and we spent the day working and celebrating at the office. Turns out, Jessie is full of birthday traditions, and with a broken oven, she couldn't make the monkey bread that she eats every birthday for breakfast. Well, we weren't going to let that happen- so yesterday morning, before going to work at the office, all the girls came over to my house bright & early to make monkey bread. It was ultimately a success after some trial and error experimenting.
The team celebrating Jessie with freshly baked breakfast!
So, now we're all back- hard at work & hard at play! The craziness is never over, because this Saturday we're hosting our annual Ladies Valentine's Tea fundrasier- still lots of preparation to be done there. Not to mention, we're leaving for our week-long YoungLife service project in a little over a month! Please keep those upcoming events as well as our hard-working staff and community in your prayers. Of course, I will keep you updated.
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8
