Hola Costa Rica!

I am finally here and settled in. I have been so busy these last few days and time for Internet has been spotty. So far we have been doing many, many group building activites. Yesterday, tonight, and probably tomorrow, everyone has/ will be sharing their testimonies. It's so great to get to know everyone on such a deep level so soon. It's hard for me to believe that this time last week I didn't know anyone here (with the excpetion of the three from Pequea.) I feel like I have known them forever.

Costa Rica really is as beautiful as people say. Every morning it is bright and sunny, then without fail, every afternoon it rains. Nights are clear and cool. I can see the mountains from the front porch. It is the best view in the world.

We have been busy getting aquainted with San Jose. We've been to a futball game, downtown, the grocery store, and the University. I love either walking or taking public transportation!!

One thing that is taking a little while to get adjusted to is the schedule. The people in Costa Rica are so laid back, we often don't know what we will be doing until an hour or so before. Being flexible is a must. Tomorrow we are visiting on of the churches. Soon we will be able to pick the ministry we would like to work with, such as poor or middle class, or teens or children.

I am getting over a bad cold, so please pray for my health and please continue to pray for the safety of my team.

Flying

Here I go. Tomorrow this time I will have been on a plane, off a plane, driven to a humugo church, met the 30 other people I am living with in quite close quarters for the next 9 months, commitioned, and suppered.

I a bit distracted tonight so this will be very short.

I am nervous, excited, anxious, and trying to remember to breath. One, two, three. Breath.
Because tomorrow I fly.

Before I Go, a Little Background

Well, this is it. It's getting down to the wire. In two weeks I will be Costa Rica, trying to sort all my belongings for the next three months into three small white cubbies, adjusting to three roommates, and learning the names of 33 other people,(whew, 3 must be the magic number), all the while muttering under my breath, "this is God's plan, this is God's plan, this is God's plan." You see, while I am excited about going to Costa Rica and studying the Bible and Spanish in depth, I am also terrified.

I love home. I love everything about it. My house and family, my friends, Lancaster County, my job, my very comfortable bed....I could go on. But I realized that though, at this point, I am not running towards this with arms wide open, it is necessary. I do not want to get to Heaven, look at Jesus and say "I'm sorry. I would have done more for your Kingdom, but I formed an unhealthy attachment to the comforts of my own bed." No. That would be an awful excuse. I want to be stretched and molded. And for me, the way to do that is going to Costa Rica.

And so, soon I'll be off to Chapter 2 of my life. For a total of nine months, (it's split into two semesters with Christmas break in between) I will be living in a villa with 33 other teens and young adults. We will spend our mornings studying Spanish and our afternoons and some evenings studying the Bible. On weekends, we will do outreach in the community and help local churches, while living with a host family.

For those of you who know me well, this is a huge stretch for me. Please keep me and my team in your prayers as we travel first to Georgia for a brief orientation, then to San Jose. We will all be adjusting to our new living enviroment and each other. Please pray that God blesses our relationships and for our health as we adjust to a new country and climate.