Hola!
First off, my computer has crashed, so my posts will not be every week. I will try to keep them updated as often as I can.

I feel completely submerged into life here. It feels like I have been here for much longer than one month.
The primary focus these first three months is Spanish and basic training of the Bible. I have three Bible classes right now, one on Theology, one on how to study the Bible, and one on learning how to evangelize to the Costa Ricans.
A typical day for me is 4 hours of Spanish, lunch, then 1 1/2 of Bible, followed by free time. Weekends we do ministry with our churches. We are really consentrating on the language right now so that when we come back after Christmas break, we are fluent and can really dive into more ministry.
I have started working with the youth group in my church. In November, my church group will be helping with a youth conference. Right now, we're brainstorming ways to really reach out into the community and grow the youth group.
Spainsh is very frustrating at times, but it is coming along. I've learned so much in just one month.
Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Settled In

It has been quite a while since I have last updated. I am in my second week of classes. Every morning I have 4 hours of Spanish, then I have about an hour or two of Bible classes in the afternoon. Late afternoon is time to catch up on sleep, homework, or run errands. I now have a home church here, which I will attend until I leave in June. It's pretty small with an even smaller youth group, but one of my group's goals is to bring in more people, especially youth.

I think I have gotten over the shock of sharing my life, literally, with 33 other people. It has made for a good growing experience. The hardest part, which I am still adjusting to, is never having the oppurtunity to be alone. I feel like I am always surrounded by others.

The most awesome experience I have had thus far was this past Monday. Most of my group hiked up and down one of the nearby mountians. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to climb up the mountain, most of which was straight uphill. After lunch, we started our journey down the other side, in search of a river that was nearby. The first mile was quite a pleasent little stroll, then we happened upon a grassy...um hill, thought the word cliff would be a more accurate descprition. It was the only way to the creek, and being the crazies that we are, we decided we must go down.
It took about an hour to climb down the hill and I have never felt more like a moutian goat in my life. About 10 min after I reached the bottom, the dark clouds rolled in and all of the excess water in Heaven's watering system started pouring down. We started the trek towards our bus, which we thought was just ahead throught the trees. Oh how wrong we were! We walked throught the jungle in a downpour that only Costa Rica could provide for about 2 hours. Becuase we were in a valley, our path quickly became a rushing stream. When we finally reached the road, we realized we were in a different providence. After reaching this conclusion, we tossed a coin and went up the road to the right (the best decision of the day, btw). We climbed and climbed some more (we we literally in the clouds!) and when we thought we made it to the end, we discovered there was a gate across the road. (It was still raining, just so you know). The only way to go was to climb straight up a mini waterfall type path made of red clay and mud. Life lesson: red clay and mud does not make for good traction. It was the only part of the day I really almost thought I could die (hi Mom and Dad!) We all made up to the top and shortly after, the bus. Unfortuently, we were 2 hours late and the bus driver was about to call the police to say that he had lost 30 "gringos" somewhere in the wilderness.

Compared to that, all other things I have done this week have been child's play. :)

Thank you for all your prayers!